KUALA LUMPUR: Amid news of the sacking of five Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia parliamentarians yesterday, an analyst reminded party leaders to learn from past mistakes of other politicians.

When PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from Umno in 1998, he was dubbed a hero throughout the country and gave birth to the "Reformasi" movement which garnered the attention of the international community.

The same goes for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal when the duo were sacked in 2015 from the then Barisan Nasional cabinet.

Muhyiddin's "I am not a yes man" line became a mantra for many Malaysians and three years later, Pakatan Harapan, which he was part of, won the historic May 9 general election.

Recently, discontent could be felt not only in Kedah but all over the country when Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir was forced to resign as the menteri besar.

Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Bersatu leaders should take a step back and reevaluate their decision.

"The infighting will continue and the (internal) crisis will get worse, because Bersatu grassroots supporters may want the party to reconsider the decision to sack the five MPs," he told the New Straits Times.

Yesterday, Bersatu sent out letters to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Langkawi), Dr Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar), Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu) and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun) informing them of their sackings.

In the letter signed by Bersatu working secretary Capt (Rtd) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, the reason given was that the five MPs refused to sit together in the government bloc during the May 18 Dewan Rakyat session.

"During the May 18 Dewan Rakyat session, you sat at the opposition bloc that does not support the Perikatan Nasional government under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Bersatu president and acting chairman. Due to this, based on Article 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of the Bersatu constitution, your membership is revoked with immediate effect," the letter, addressed to each MP, stated.

It was reported that Suhaimi confirmed the authenticity of the letters.

"The letters issued by the executive secretary are valid and it (the issuance) was done according to the powers provided to us," he told Berita Harian.

Article 10.2 of the Bersatu constitution stated that the membership of a person is automatically revoked if he declared that he has left the party (10.2.2) or if he becomes a member of another political party in this country (10.2.3).

However, Article 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of the Bersatu constitution did not state that a member can be expelled if he sits on the other side of the government bloc in the Dewan Rakyat.

Following this, Sivamurugan said Bersatu grassroots would be questioning their leaders, especially party president Muhyiddin and asking for the leadership to adhere to democratic processes.

"For Bersatu it seems that is the end of the negotiation. The party may want to move on post-Dr Mahathir era in Bersatu and claim leadership under Muhyiddin.

"However, everyone has to learn from Anwar, Mukhriz, Shafie and Muhyiddin's sackings to see the impact on the (affected) party and its leadership."

Although Muhyiddin may realise that this decision would backfire, Dr Sivamurugan said the prime minister did not have much choice since he was running out of options in keeping Bersatu intact.

"Muhyiddin himself was sacked back in 2016 (from Umno) and he is taking the unpopular decision as well, but he has to do it to avoid having two captains within a party," he said, referring to the two factions within Bersatu where one is siding with Dr Mahathir and the other with Muhyiddin, who will have a lot of answering to do to his party members once he is back from his Covid-19 compulsory quarantine.

A Bersatu grassroots member said: "It reminds me of an old Malay proverb — habis madu sepah dibuang" (taking advantage of a person).

https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2020/05/596210/take-step-back-reevaluate-decision-sack-5-bersatu-told