I Came across a photo of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) trio — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin — recently and, at first glance, it looked like a Chinese New Year promotional gimmick of a local airline.
They were sporting red polo tees and matching caps, and after a good look, I came to realise that it was actually a photo of the launch of their official party anthem and website.
Despite posing in picture-perfect smiles, they are hiding the fact that trouble is brewing in PPBM.
The party, made up of former Umno stalwarts, is already having its fair share of stumbles and fumbles — and it is only slightly over a 100 days old.
Talk is rife that there are two camps in the party — one on PPBM president Muhyiddin’s, and the other on chairman Dr Mahathir’s side.
At a press conference last Saturday, Muhyiddin rubbished such claims with a simple “not at all”.
Dr Mahathir, when asked the same question, said: “Whatever he says, I say.”
Mukhriz, too, rejected this claim, saying that there was no acrimony between his father and the former deputy prime minister.
The three of them, he said, would meet regularly and even if he was not available, Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin would meet almost weekly.
PPBM also has problems identifying who they want to lead its women’s wing, the Srikandi.
Anina Saadudin, a former Langkawi Umno member, had allegedly been removed from the Srikandi chief’s post. Her appointment was announced on Nov 2 last year, in the same ceremony when PPBM announced its supreme leadership council members.
Muhyiddin said Anina was dropped as the wing’s chief because her performance did not fulfil expectations and she had failed to bring developments in the wing.
PPBM information chief Datuk Kamarudin Md Nor, however, was quoted as saying that the party “had never officially appointed” Anina as its women’s wing chief.
The confusion doesn’t stop there. The party’s secretary-general, Datuk Shahruddin Md Salleh, meanwhile, said the Srikandi wing had “yet to be established”, hence Anina’s alleged sacking could not have happened.
Just hours after being stripped of her post, Anina claimed that the decision could be linked to allegations that she was involved in a “sexting scandal”.
Such scandals are nothing new in politics. They’ve even become the “conversation of choice” at the neighbourhood kopitiam and mamak stalls. Politics in this country is filled with malicious allegations, and it happens in both Barisan Nasional and the opposition.
No party is spared.
Unfortunately for PPBM, that’s not all. One would assume that with big names in the party, they would have little or no problem attracting people with the “huge following” that the leaders seem to have.
However, sources close to the party leadership have revealed that PPBM’s membership is stagnant, and they are “desperate” to find new members, particularly the youth, to grow their numbers.
They say that they don’t believe in Dr Mahathir’s leadership, claiming that the former prime minister is a hypocrite, while others say PPBM has “no future”.
Political pundit Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said the recent controversies that engulfed the party might create a crisis of legitimacy if not handled well.
“It needs detailed and clear explanations to retain support and to win the hearts of fence-sitters.
“I think as a new party, it has to avoid such controversies.”
It is not wrong to say that PPBM is a liability for Pakatan Harapan. And, since they only signed an electoral pact, PPBM may have to build a stronger foundation for itself to take on the role as the third force within Pakatan Harapan.
PPBM leaders may say that their party is still taking baby steps, but with the combined experience the top three have, they’d better learn to run, soon.
Time is not on their side and if they continue to be plagued with scandals and controversies, it may cost them an arm and a leg.
They still have much to prove if they ever want to be a force to be reckoned with.
Hana Naz Harun is a political desk journalist who enjoys table talk and the occasional cat video-binge and playing the piano