Bersatu’s appeal among fence-sitters, professionals and young voters has weakened following an internal crisis that led to the removal of several senior leaders, according to political analysts.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said these groups were initially attracted to Bersatu because of reform-oriented leaders such as Saifuddin Abdullah and Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
Both MPs were aligned with former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin and have since been expelled from the party together with him.
“Muhyiddin Yassin, who is approaching 80, can no longer adapt to the new political landscape shaped by this group of leaders. He is still using the old political patronage approach associated with Umno,” he told FMT.
Bersatu struggling to project progressive image
Fauzi said Bersatu has struggled to present itself as a progressive and inclusive nationalist party since the removal of Hamzah and several other key leaders.
He said the party had previously played a complementary role to PAS, which is often viewed as more conservative.
Despite Bersatu’s current weaknesses, Fauzi said the party should still work towards building an inclusive vision capable of attracting professionals and younger voters ahead of the next general election, GE16.
“Even Umno realises this style of political patronage no longer works, as seen through the return of Khairy Jamaluddin, who brings innovative ideas and a strong understanding of global politics,” he said.
Fauzi also said comments from several PAS leaders suggested that many within the Islamist party preferred Hamzah and wanted his faction to remain within Perikatan Nasional.
Razali defends Bersatu’s electoral role
Fauzi was responding to remarks by Terengganu Bersatu chief Razali Idris, who stressed the importance of continued cooperation between Bersatu and PAS.
Razali said Bersatu remained capable of attracting fence-sitters, professionals and younger voters, complementing PAS’s strong election machinery and campaign experience.
However, Fauzi dismissed the claim, saying Razali was merely attempting to cover up Bersatu’s declining support.
Analysts say leadership change needed
University of Tasmania political analyst James Chin said Bersatu was now at a critical stage and running out of time to rebuild Malay support, especially if GE16 is held this year.
He said a leadership change would be the fastest way to revive the party after years of internal disputes and tensions.
“Bersatu is more or less finished unless they can replace Muhyiddin with another leader,” he said.
Chin said the party’s decline began when Muhyiddin announced plans to step down as president before reversing the decision the next day.
According to Chin, Muhyiddin could have injected fresh momentum into Bersatu by handing over leadership to the younger generation, whether to Hamzah or current secretary-general Azmin Ali.
“But now Bersatu is in a very tough spot,” he added.
Hamzah’s rise and eventual expulsion
During Bersatu’s party elections two years ago, Muhyiddin retained the presidency after being re-elected unopposed.
Hamzah won the deputy presidency following an arrangement by Muhyiddin, who persuaded then deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu to contest one of the party’s three vice-president posts instead.
Hamzah and several leaders aligned with him were later sacked from Bersatu in February after they were accused of pushing for Muhyiddin to step down as party president.
