INTERNAL conflict between local leaders and a lack of grassroots support are among key reasons why Bersatu could struggle in the Malacca polls next month, said a party leader and political analysts.

They said the party was still weak in the state and would face challenges at the ballot box in November.

Party supreme council member Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said internal conflict among local leaders was one of the reasons why it performed badly in Malacca in the 2018 general election.

He also suggested that it would be better for the party to form an alliance with Umno rather than challenging.

“This element of conflict is not one that divides the party but is more about differences of opinion that can affect the unity of members.

“You can say that the Malacca Bersatu leadership is not united,” the former state party chief told The Malaysian Insight.

He added that the issue of grassroots support could be managed if the state leaders can solve their differences.

“We hear this issue (of performance) from the grassroots, but for me, it is not a big problem if we can manage the leadership issues more prudently.

“We need to know the direction of the party and how to manage it. I think any party will have such problems,” he said.

He also said Bersatu state leaders never sought his views or advice to strengthen the grassroots machinery, even though he was the founder of the party in the state.

The Election Commission (EC) has set November 20 for elections after four assemblymen led by Idris Haron (Sungai Udang-Barisan Nasional) announced their decision to withdraw support for Menteri Besar Sulaiman Md Ali.

The other three were Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor-BN), Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas-Perikatan Nasional) and Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu-Ind).

Bersatu, along with its allies in PN, which includes PAS, is set to face three-cornered fights against BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH).

However, critics have questioned Bersatu’s strength after the party had won only two state seats from the six it had contested under the PH banner in GE14.

Redzuan, who is also Alor Gajah MP, said the party was also facing grassroots problems because it has yet to set up branches at ground level.

He said the issue of lack of machinery was not a problem during GE14 as the party depended on PH support, and it had about 16,000 members in the state then.

However, the scenario changed when Bersatu ditched PH in 2020.

Work with Umno

Redzuan said that Bersatu and PAS must work with Umno – and by extension BN – if it wants a bigger victory in these elections.

“We heard talks that Bersatu wants to contest in all 28 seats. I think we have to reconsider and have to be realistic, we have to see who we are. In the past, the GE14 tsunami was big but now the situation is different.

“Before, we were not alone because there was PH, but this time we have to co-operate with the people we don’t want to co-operate with to preserve the Malay leadership.”

He said the Malay leaders must lead their race because they are the largest population in the country.

“I feel it is important, if there is a time, the need for Bersatu and Umno leaders to sit down and discuss this issue,” he said.

He said, with the combined co-operation between PN and BN, it would not be impossible to win 20 or 22 seats in the state elections.

Meanwhile, Malacca Bersatu secretary Zamzuri Arifin said he did not have an exact party roll call at this time.

However, he said, currently Bersatu has six divisions and 100 more branches, which is a four-fold increase on GE14.

Zamzuri rejected accusations that Bersatu was weak in its grassroots support and had previously relied heavily on PH.

“For this election, our grassroots are enough in all state seats. Maybe we will add on more grassroots (support) for a smoother journey, but it is not correct to say that we had depended a lot on PH.

“When I contested in the Asahan seat there was a lot of machinery from Bersatu that was lacking in other parties.”

Testing ground for the party

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya lecturer Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Bersatu was weak because it did not have the infrastructure of PH or Umno.

Awang Azman said Bersatu’s strength in Malacca during GE14 was largely driven by votes from the Chinese and use of PKR logo.

“The situation is different this time because Bersatu is no longer with PH. Bersatu is now the party contesting in the Malacca elections.

“PAS’s assistance is expected to help Bersatu but it is not enough to give a big impact in the elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Mazlan Ali said based on his survey in Malacca, Bersatu was not as weak as people think.

He said the state elections could be a testing ground for Bersatu, adding that the party has support thanks to policies put in place by president Muhyiddin Yassin when he was the prime minister.

“This was based on my survey between Muhyiddin and (prime minister) Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“Muhyiddin is famous because in the past when he was the prime minister, he made many popular policies.

“Even the current Malacca Bersatu chairman Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen enjoys some support because of Muhyiddin’s influence.

“As we already know the people, especially the B40 group, they like the government which provides a lot of assistance and incentives,” he said. – October 30, 2021.