UMNO is not unduly disturbed by the decision of its seven former members of parliament to defect and join Bersatu as the grassroots members are still loyal to the party, said its leaders.

Instead of crying over the seven, they said there are more pressing matters, such as the cooperation with PAS and facing the changing Malaysian political landscape following the last general election.

The seven federal seats lost to Bersatu through the defections are Malay-majority seats and thus, will test the true cooperation of Umno-PAS in the next general election to wrest them back, they said.

Masjid Tanah Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh said his division remains intact although the MP, Mas Ermieyati Samsuddin, left Barisan Nasional last July.

Mas Ermieyati, a former Puteri Umno chief and a federal deputy minister, was among the seven MPs who joined Bersatu earlier this week.

“It has been more than six months (since she left Umno) but not one branch has been dissolved until today.

“From 26,000 Umno members in Masjid Tanah, only a handful left,” Rauf told The Malaysian Insight.

The former Umno executive secretary said instead of being plunged into crisis, the division is more united than ever.

“I don’t want to meddle in the affairs of other parties but we have heard various issues about them in social media.

“There is no need for me to explain as they are reported in the media,” he said.

In GE14, Mas Ermieyati defeated Pakatan Harapan candidate Sabirin Jaafar from Bersatu and PAS candidate Mohd Nasir Othman by 8,159 votes.

“Masjid Tanah Umno will still be able to win the parliamentary and five state assembly seats.

“That is how strong Masjid Tanah Umno is and its member remain loyal to the party,” said Rauf.

The same sentiment was echoed by acting Umno president Mohamad Hasan when asked about the seven.

“It is their right but their departure will have no impact on us as they are no longer Umno MPs,” he said.

On Tuesday, the seven MPs received their Bersatu membership card from Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Apart from Mas Ermieyati, the other six are former minister Hamzah Zainuddin (Larut), Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Abdul Latiff Ahmad (Mersing), Shabudin Yahaya (Tasik Gelugor), Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (Tanah Merah) and Mohamad Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Sabak Bernam).

The six men left Umno on December 14 last year, two days following the mass exodus of Sabah Umno.

They cited loss of confidence in the Umno leadership as reason for leaving and hailed the leadership of Dr Mahathir – the leader who they fought against during the last elections.

But the divisional leaders said they are aware of the real reasons for the departure of the seven.

Fasiah, for example, is said to have lost grassroots support although he won the Sabah Bernam seat in GE14.

“Anyone can do the maths. Fasiah lost the division chief’s post and with that, he lost his opportunity to contest the parliamentary seat again in the next polls,” Sabak Bernam Umno information chief Jais Zahdi told The Malaysian Insight.

In the party elections last June, Fasiah failed to defend his post and lost to former chief Abd Rahman Bakri, who is also the former Sabak Bernam MP. Fasiah lost by 36 votes.

“The Youth, Wanita and Puteri movements were no longer with him, so he had no chance of being picked again to contest in GE15. Now he can do it on another party’s platform,” he said.

Jais said Sabak Bernam Umno members no longer speak about their former elected rep as he is no longer relevant to them.

Instead the cooperation between Umno and PAS holds far more importance to ensure the relationship becomes a reality.

“In Sabak Bernam, only Umno and PAS are strong. We lost the Sabak state seat by only 130 votes.

“If we can work with PAS, we can win this seat easily,” he said.

Malay votes

Sabak Bernam is a Malay-majority area with Malay (83%), Chinese (12%) and Indian (5%) voters, based on the last electoral roll.

The six other federal seats which lost their MPs to Bersatu also have the same profile as most of them are Malay-majority areas of between 78% and 99%.

Based on the GE14 results, PH won’t be able to defend the seven seats if Umno and PAS work together in the next elections, said Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi from Universiti Malaya.

He said it is only a perception that the defection of the seven had strengthened Bersatu.

“In reality, them joining Bersatu is just like a firework show – short-lived joy and excitement,” Awang Azman told The Malaysian Insight.

He said voters in the seven seats are conservative Malays who are comfortable with Umno and its struggles.

He gave the example of the Tasek Gelugor seat which has 78% Malay voters.

In GE14, BN won the seat by getting 18,547 voters while PH obtained 18,465 votes and PAS, 14,891 votes.

“Imagine the fate of this seat in the next general election with Umno and PAS joining forces,” he said.

The defection of the seven to Bersatu has no long-term gains for the ruling party but will only cause concern among the voters over politicians jumping parties, he said. – February 14, 2019.