A BERSATU supreme council member has claimed that more than 10 MPs now supporting the unity government will switch camps to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) to form a new administration.

Mohd Redzuan Yusof told Sinar Harian that he was informed of internal discussions among the party’s top leadership about the matter.

“If you were to assume that more Bersatu MPs will switch sides, I think speculation that MPs from the government bloc, including BN (Barisan Nasional) and PKR, will support Perikatan Nasional to form a new government is (more) realistic.”

“There are rumours that more than 10 MPs are considering switching blocs. They were examining the fundamental problems with the current government and realising that it is being controlled by DAP.”

“A tree won’t sway if there is no wind. How can Umno secretary-general (Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki) reveal that BN MPs have signed a party bond stating that they will have to pay the party RM100 million if they defect,” he told the Malay-language daily.

Recently, five Bersatu lawmakers recently pledged their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president.

Last week, PN’s Bukit Gantang MP, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, declared his support for Anwar and the unity government after stating he was disappointed that PN did not negotiate for constituency development funds. 

He was the fifth Bersatu MP to back Anwar.

The other four are Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli).

Redzuan also did not rule out the possibility that one of the 17 component parties that form the unity government might shift its support to PN en bloc.

“I don’t see the issue of MPs switching support benefiting anyone. Even though the unity government is said to have the support of 154 MPs, that support is still very fragile,” he said. – December 2, 2023.