KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin has a better chance of political longevity outside Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), experts have said.
This as the party’s disciplinary committee issued a statement last night to say that Zuraida and 10 other party members — all of whom were previously suspended — had been sacked for failing to respond to show-cause letters sent to them last Monday.
Senior fellow at Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research Azmi Hassan said while she needs a party, PBM wasn’t serving Zuraida like PKR once did.
“Any politician in Malaysia who wants to be successful needs a party.
“Very rarely do independent politicians go up the ladder because that’s the way Malaysian voters think. Because they think party and individual come together.
“So, as for Zuraida, she needs a party, but PBM doesn’t serve her as how PKR had,” Azmi told Malay Mail when contacted.
According to Azmi, that was likely Zuraida’s strategy when she joined Muafakat Nasional (MN) in an attempt to prop up her political career.
“But MN is an NGO right now; maybe if MN can gain some traction in terms of its membership, it can transform itself into a political party.
“That’s one way Zuraida is thinking, by joining MN, or MN by establishing itself as having some influence in terms of membership will allow it to join existing political parties,” he added.
On Sunday, Zuraida accused PBM president Datuk Larry Sng of being “immature” and “failing to think rationally” in managing the party.
In a continuation of the conflict with Sng that began with a leadership tussle before the 15th general election, Zuraida said Sng’s “shallow act” in exposing party secrets on media social coupled with conflicting statements had tarnished the party’s image and triggered concern among its members.
Sng then countered Zuraida by saying that she would be better off calling it quits, citing her drubbing in the November 19 general election as a clear sign she had lost voters’ support.
Despite this, Azmi said if she wanted to, Zuraida could challenge Sng as she has an ace up her sleeve.
“Zuraida also has an important upper hand since she is, in terms of PBM grassroots support, quite popular due to her NGO (Penubuhan Penggerak Komuniti Negara or PKN).
“Otherwise, on paper, Sng has the advantage since he is PBM president and an MP who is part of the government coalition. He has the advantage of just being the MP of Julau until PBM’s party election,” Azmi said.
However, when talking about PBM’s future, Azmi said its influence is minimal because it is represented by only one MP.
“The general voters don’t care much about PBM and if Zuraida can lose during the general election, representing PBM in Ampang, an urban area, I guess PBM does not have a big influence on our political scenario. That is something that cannot be denied.
“So this spat between the president and a normal member, or whatever post Zuraida is holding in PBM, spells possible trouble for PBM since they are fighting over something that from the point of view of voters nationally is very negligible in terms of their influence on the national political scenario,” he said.
Of a similar view is University of Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel) sociopolitical analyst Associate Professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi who said Zuraida has a better future outside PBM.
“It’s better for Zuraida to remain outside PBM if she wants to continue her political journey as she still has time.
“On top of that, she still has grassroots support, and they are willing to be with her. But if the situation now is left for too long, her supporters might have a change of heart and abandon her,” Awang Azman said when contacted.
Meanwhile, Universiti Sains Malaysia political science professor Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said PBM’s continued significance to Malaysian politics, although somewhat marginal, is better guaranteed by having an incumbent MP helming it, on top of Sng’s declaration of support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Moreover, Sng still has the chance of being appointed to any deputy ministership or even ministership should there be a Cabinet reshuffle in the future.
“This contrasts with Zuraida, who is known to Anwar’s supporters as a traitor.
“If she were to lead PBM, the party’s direction would be a mystery, since Zuraida might not want to align PBM with Perikatan Nasional either, given her past cold-shouldering of Bersatu.
“Its leading figure Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has made negative comments concerning Zuraida’s poor attendance of Bersatu party meetings when she was part of the party leadership and a minister,” said Ahmad Fauzi.
He added that PBM’s current predicament would have to be resolved by the Registrar of Societies, and following that, the judiciary, if the losing side continues to be dissatisfied and seeks redress through the courts.
