MALAYSIANS did not forget the leaders who were instrumental in the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020, analysts said.

They voted out almost all the politicians who had defected from PKR to support Muhyiddin Yassin and Bersatu to form a new government with Umno and PAS.

Dr Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the “traitors” who had stood in PKR strongholds were roundly defeated.

“The people will never forget the leaders who betrayed their mandate,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia political analyst Dr Salawati Mat Basir said the people have spoken.

“Although these leaders had worked hard for the people in their areas, they still betrayed the people’s mandate.

“Their defeats will be a lesson to other members of parliament.”

Here is a list of MPs who defected in the Sheraton Move and how they fared in GE15.

Mohamed Azmin Ali

The former PKR deputy president was said to be the mastermind behind the Sheraton Move. He defended and lost the Gombak seat on a Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket.

The ex-Selangor menteri besar lost to his former protege Amirudin Shari, who won 72,267 votes to Azmin’s 59,538 votes. BN candidate Megat Zulkarnain Omardin received 30,723 votes.

Azmin was Gombak MP for three terms and a senior minister in Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s cabinets.

Zuraida Kamaruddin

Zuraida was a PKR vice-president and the incumbent Ampang MP.

She won the seat with a majority of 41,956 votes on the PKR ticket in 2018 but stood under the Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) flag in 2022.

After the Sheraton Move, Zuraida followed Azmin to join Bersatu but left the party afterwards. She was a minister in several administrations.

In this election, Zuraida did not only lose to former PKR colleague Rodziah Ismail, but also lost her deposit when she failed to land fewer than 5,000 votes.

Saifuddin Abdullah

This former Umno politician joined PKR in 2015 before switching to Bersatu in 2020.

He won the Indera Mahkota seat in 2018 on a PH ticket, defeating BN candidate Johan Mat Sah by 10,950 votes.

Saifuddin was the only ex-PKR lawmaker who successfully defended his seat in Saturday’s elections.

He received 41,692 votes while his closest challenger Zuraidi Ismail (PH) collected 33,293.

Kamaruddin Jaafar

Kamaruddin was a member of Umno, PAS and PKR before he joined Bersatu in 2020.

He won the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat in 2018 but lost it this year to PKR adviser Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is the wife of Anwar Ibrahim.

Wan Azizah received 43,476 votes to Kamarudin’s 33,659.

Mansor Othman

Mansor was Anwar’s political secretary before he became the Nibong Tebal MP in 2014 and 2018.

He left PKR to join Bersatu in 2020.

He lost the seat on Saturday to PH’s Fadhlina Sidek, who got 42,188 votes to his 25,895.

Rashid Hasnon

Rashid won the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat on a PKR ticket in 2018.

Tthe former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, who stood for Bersatu this time around, lost the seat on Saturday to PH’s Onn Abu Bakar, who chalked up 45,242 votes. Rashid only managed 29,270.

Ali Biju

The Saratok incumbent seat has successfully defended the seat he won on a PH ticket in 2018.

Ali, who switched parties from PKR to Bersatu during the Sheraton Move, represented PN in this election.

He won the Saratok seat with 19,223 votes while GPS’ Giendam Jonathan Tait received 10,397. PH candidate Ibil Jaya lost his deposit money after securing only 1,221 votes.

Willie Mongin

Willie was a member of PKR from 2009 to 2020.

He stood in the 2013 general election in Mambong, where he lost to BN candidate James Dawos Mamit.

In 2018, he ran for and won the Puncak Borneo parliamentary seat with a majority of 4,005 votes in a three-cornered clash.

Willie left PKR for Bersatu after the PH government fell in February 2020. He joined Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu earlier this year.

As the incumbent in 2022, he defended Puncak Borneo from PKR’s Diog Dios and Lana Akam of Parti Sarawak Bersatu.

Jonathan Yasin

Jonathan won the Ranau parliamentary seat in 2018, and ran in GE15 on a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ticket.

He kept the seat in 2022 by securing 22,606 votes, defeating four other candidates from PH, Warisan, Pejuang and PBRS.

Baru Bian

Then-Selangau MP Baru left PKR in 2020 to become Independent.

In 2022, he stood in Lawas against incumbent Henry Sum Agong of GPS and Japar Suyut of PKR.

Baru ost to Henry by 5,677 votes.

Analyst Mazlan said the ‘traitor’ politicians in Sabah and Sarawak continued to win because people voted differently in East Malaysia.

“In Sabah and Sarawak, people choose their leaders for their character,” he said.

“Because of that, leaders who changed parties were still accepted by the people, but this would not happen on the peninsula.” – November 21, 2022.