The Perikatan Nasional coalition is looking for six parliamentary seats as possible replacements for its lawmakers who may be disqualified due to their court cases, said ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
This search for replacement seats is one of the headaches facing prime minister and Perikatan Nasional head Muhyiddin Yassin, wrote Dr Mahathir in his recent blog post.
Another headache is the fact that Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party is bleeding grassroots members and it won’t be able to perform in the coming general election.
“In the general election, Bersatu won’t get support from Umno and PAS, and not from Pakatan Harapan,” Dr Mahathir said.
“Bersatu will probably be dissolved and its members will return to Umno. That would be the end of the hijacked party. This is Muhyiddin’s headache. There is nothing to aim for.”
Dr Mahathir leads Pejuang, a party formed by former Bersatu members who opposed Muhyiddin’s decision to abandon the Pakatan Haparan government in late February, leading to its collapse.
Bersatu is now in a new coalition, Perikatan Nasional, with former political rivals PAS and Umno.
Six Umno MPs, including its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Bagan Datok MP) and his predecessor Najib Razak (Pekan) have been charged with a wide array of graft and money-laundering charges allegedly committed during the previous Barisan Nasional government.
Najib was last month found guilty of all seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million. He has filed an appeal.
Others who have been charged were Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, Ahmad Maslan (Pontian), Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (Putrajaya) and Bung Moktar Radin (Kinabatangan).
MPs are automatically disqualified if they are sentenced to more than one month in prison.
“If they lose their status as elected representatives, Bersatu and PN will collapse. To prevent this from happening, the prime minister needs to find replacements,” said Dr Mahathir.
“So Bersatu abandons its stance as a Bumiputera party and opens its doors to all races. But it still uses its name (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia). – TMI