GEORGE TOWN: The inaugural Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) election on April 23 is expected to resolve uncertainties surrounding the party leadership at the moment, said a senior leader today.
PPBM suffered a major split when party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pulled it out from the then ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH), to form a new government.
This led to Tun Dr Mahathir resigning from his posts both as Prime Minister and PPBM Chairman.
Muhyiddin then formed a Cabinet under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance to lead the country. PN consists of Barisan Nasional, PAS, and is supported by Sarawak’s GPS, and a few Sabah splinter parties.
Kedah PPBM deputy chairman Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (pix) said that previously, it was decided that the top three posts held by Mahathir (Chairman), Muhyiddin (President) and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Deputy President), would go uncontested.
However, the polls will now witness a contest between factions aligned to Mahathir and those aligned with Muhyiddin.
“The onus is on whether Mahathir can convince the PPBM grassroots that what Muhyiddin did was wrong and the nation would suffer as a result. Or whether Muhyiddin can use his power of incumbency to win over support,” said Amiruddin.
PPBM’s base is also split with Mahathir leading the ones up north in Kedah and Penang, with Muhyiddin taking over the leadership in Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan as well as Perak after his ally Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Amuzu was reappointed as the Mentri Besar today.
Whoever wins the battleground states such as Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, may emerge as the victor.
Also, it remains to be seen if former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali can have a role in the contest after he joined PPBM together with 10 other former PKR leaders.
It was reported that 189 PPBM divisions nationwide were scheduled to hold their respective divisional meetings simultaneously on April 18, as determined by its supreme council.
The meetings would enable delegates to choose the national leadership as members of the Supreme Council for the term until 2022.
The posts scheduled for contests are the permanent chairman; deputy permanent chairman; chairman; president; deputy president; vice president (three slots) and committee members (20 slots).
Party insiders said that if Mahathir can reclaim support, he may reverse what Muhyiddin did on Feb 23.
Since then, Mahathir has vowed to return with the hope of stopping the “backdoor” government from consolidating itself.
But if the elections end improperly, the Registrar of Societies (RoS), who is monitoring the party, may deregister it due to the complications involved.
