Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia said these leaders, among whom are MPs and assemblymen, now had the opportunity to rise in the party hierarchy following yesterday’s purge of several leaders, including Hamzah.
She added that elected representatives aligned with Bersatu had only two options: continue speaking out against Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin or keep silent.
Syaza said quitting Bersatu in protest was not an option as they would trigger the anti-hopping law, which would mean losing their seats.
“My suspicion is some of them would stay in Bersatu and show their loyalty to the party. The safest bet is to stay and see if the party decides to sack them. If they’re sacked it won’t trigger anything anyway.
“Those with ambition within Bersatu, or who don’t know where to go if they leave, may choose to stay quiet in preparation for the 16th general election,” she told FMT.
Under the anti-hopping law, an MP’s seat will be vacated if he joins another party from the one under which he was elected. Exceptions are provided for MPs who are sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.
Political scientist Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said Muhyiddin may be deterred from sacking the rest of Hamzah’s loyalists as it could give his bitter rival enough leaders and grassroots to form a new party which could then become an ally of PAS outside Perikatan Nasional.
Such a linkup would pose a threat to Bersatu and Muhyiddin, especially given Hamzah’s apparent close ties with the Islamic party’s top leaders. “This may leave PN paralysed,” he said.
On the other hand, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Mazlan Ali expected Hamzah to rally his supporters within Bersatu to pile on the pressure for Muhyiddin to step down.
“If Hamzah reaches a dead end in trying to remove Muhyiddin, forming his own party is a good option,” Mazlan said.
Besides Hamzah, Bersatu sacked 16 leaders, including three MPs, two assemblymen, and 10 division chiefs. Two other MPs, Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Saifuddin Abdullah, were dismissed earlier.
‘A head with no control over its body’
Wong likened Muhyiddin to a head with no control over its body; he said Bersatu had won 31 parliamentary seats in the 2022 general election, six of whom later declared support for the government while six others have since been sacked.
“How many of the remaining 18 Bersatu MPs (excluding Muhyiddin) are loyal to the Bersatu president?” he said. Twelve of Bersatu’s 19 MPs had publicly called for Muhyiddin’s resignation.
Wong expected this development to drive PAS to make more efforts to revive Muafakat Nasional, its now-defunct pact with Umno.
Syaza said Bersatu appeared “quite directionless” in recent months amid the leadership tussle, with the fallout from the spree of sackings expected to further complicate matters.
She said much of the focus in Muhyiddin’s faction has been on keeping the former prime minister in the post, while the absence of a clear succession plan remains a fundamental issue for Bersatu.
“With Hamzah out, there’s really no one else from Bersatu to put forward (as Muhyiddin’s successor). It could be (Bersatu secretary-general) Azmin Ali or (vice-president) Ahmad Faizal Azumu, but nothing is certain.”