S’gor Bersatu’s PH pact exposes leaders’ long-held leanings, says Kiandee

Suspended Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee says he is not surprised by the party’s plan to sign a pact with the Pakatan Harapan-led government in Selangor.

The Beluran MP claimed the current Bersatu leadership has long sought an association with PH, adding that the move to negotiate a pact in Selangor has only made their intentions clearer.

Kiandee suggested that the leadership may have refrained from being so overt in the past due to internal opposition from figures like himself.

“Maybe it has been their intention all this while, and it is just coming out now. The fact is, there are some of us here they don’t like because of differences in our political stance.

“So now it is obvious that, all this while, they have been wanting to associate with PH,” he told FMT when met in Parliament after the tabling of the 2027 budget yesterday.

Kiandee said the pact has probably been in the works for a while now, and that former PKR leaders in Bersatu, such as Azmin Ali, Hilman Idham and Dr Afif Bahardin, could have played a role in it.

On Thursday, Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said Bersatu assemblymen would be signing a pact with the state government before the state budget is tabled, with terms currently being finalised.

The announcement came amid heightening tensions between PH and Barisan Nasional, a key partner in both the federal and Selangor governments.

Bersatu has similarly fallen out with PAS, which currently chairs the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

The 56-member Selangor assembly comprises 32 representatives from Pakatan Harapan, followed by Bersatu (11), PAS (10), Barisan Nasional (2), and one independent.

PAS’s image affected by Bersatu fallout

Meanwhile, PAS’s Pendang MP Awang Hashim downplayed tensions between BN and PH as well as the planned PH-Bersatu pact, saying it was natural in politics for allies to become opponents, and vice versa.

He added that Bersatu’s potential cooperation with PH in Selangor was a decision made by the party itself, despite the party still being a PN component.

“This is normal. In politics, friends can become enemies, and tomorrow, enemies may become friends. That is natural in politics.

“It would not be a surprise if Bersatu were to work with PH in Selangor. That is their right, as they have now decided not to be with PN,” the two-term MP said.

Awang insisted that PAS had not anticipated the fallout within Bersatu and has actively steered clear of its coalition partner’s internal turmoil.

“Whatever happens, it will also reflect badly on the image of the coalition’s other partners.

“These are your (Bersatu’s) internal problems, but we cannot escape the consequences.”

Bersatu’s internal friction arose from an intense leadership tussle between party president Muhyiddin Yassin and then deputy Hamzah Zainudin, which saw the latter expelled in February.

Hamzah, the opposition leader, now leads Wawasan, which boasts several former Bersatu MPs and assemblymen among its ranks.

“We did not interfere, but were dragged into this situation and forced to make our own decisions,” he said.

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