00:10Hello and good evening. I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome back to Consider This. Let's continue
00:15our discussion about Perikatan National's new chairman and what this means for the
00:20coalition's internal hierarchy. Where does this leave bersatu in the balance of power?
00:26Joining me now is Dr. Afif Bahardin who is Bersatu Supreme Council member. He's also the Selangor
00:33State Assemblyperson for Taman Medan. Dr. Afif, thank you so much for joining me on the show
00:38today. Let's start with the sacking of Dr. Sri Amzal Zainuddin. Has that essentially solved
00:46the crisis that was brewing within Bersatu? Definitely. The decision has brought clarity
00:55to the leadership. And I think by having clarity is the first step forward towards stability
01:01within the party. But as any responsible political movement, especially a party as young as Bersatu,
01:09we must understand that stability is not created by removing an individual alone. It must be,
01:16it must come together with building back the party through discipline, institutional strength,
01:22and also a shared purpose and refocus of our alignment towards the vision that we're looking
01:29at. And our focus now is not on who has left, but on what must be rebuilt. I think the
01:36confidence
01:36among members, the coherence in messaging among our members and credibility before the public
01:43is much crucial now to be rebuilt. And internal matters, definitely all the disciplinary action and
01:51the sacking that has taken place are done internally and addressed through the constitutional process
01:57within the party. And what matters more is whether we emerge more orderly, more policy-driven,
02:04and more focus on the issues that are being faced by Malaysians today.
02:08Right. So you said that the focus now should be on communicating to the public this clarity,
02:16this stability, and the discipline that you say is the next focus of the party. But how would you then
02:22address voter perception that Bersatu is irreparably damaged or fractured from the leaving of such a huge
02:31chunk of its top leadership?
02:35I mean, this is not my first time going through this. I went through this before when I was in
02:41PKR last
02:42time. So definitely to me, perception is not shaped by behavior, is shaped by behavior, not only statements
02:52or mere statements that are being made. So in order to do this, we have to address it to me
02:57in a few ways.
02:59Firstly, we have to do the institutional discipline. We have to focus on that. Decisions are made through
03:05proper channels and not through media or through any narratives being thrown out here and there
03:12in the public. And secondly, is the consistency in policy messaging. I think the public wants to know
03:18what we stand for. I think it's about time that Bersatu really talks about more on policy-driven matters.
03:23I think we've wasted quite the media space that we have for the past few months on matters that are
03:29not
03:30really concerning the general public, where the public are actually looking at whether what Bersatu
03:35could offer to them, especially as we are approaching towards the general election and also some state
03:41elections that are going to be coming. And also, third, I think we have to be visible, being unified in
03:49our action.
03:50We have to join programs not only within Bersatu, but also definitely with Prikatan National.
03:55We are having a new chairman at the moment as a Prikatan National chairman, Dr. Sam Suri.
04:02Definitely, this will also influence and also will be... I always see this as an opportunity.
04:09When there's always a crisis, there's always an opportunity for any person or any political movement
04:15to be able to seize it and also to capture the moments and make it turn it to be positive
04:21for the movement as a whole.
04:23All right. So, you mentioned the new chairman of Prikatan National, Dr. Sam Suri.
04:31What is expected to change under his leadership? How will the coalition, what's the trajectory of the coalition
04:40go forward? I'm curious to know maybe if you could compare the leadership or the direction of the coalition
04:46compared to that under Tan Sri Mudinga Sin.
04:51Definitely, with new leader, a new head at the helm, there must be a few changes that need to be
04:58introduced.
04:58And definitely, people are looking forward towards it because Prikatan National are not here just to be merely an opposition.
05:05We keep positioning ourselves to be the government in waiting or offering ourselves to be the government.
05:11And furthermore, Dr. Sam Suri also himself is a Menteri Besar in Tengganu.
05:16Definitely, his track record in Tengganu will be now be... I know he has been scrutinized before.
05:23Definitely, now it will be microscopically looked, especially by people or especially our informed
05:29voters who are mostly on the West Coast because this will be the battleground for the next election.
05:35And definitely, for Dr. Sam Suri, now, I mean, to me, the commitment that's been given by Tan Sri Muhyiddin
05:43as the founding president of Prikatan National and also the one who actually architected the formation of Prikatan National,
05:51the commitment that Tan Sri Muhyiddin gave towards Dr. Sam Suri and also the leadership of Prikatan National
05:57definitely will help Dr. Sam Suri in addressing and also fulfilling his responsibility.
06:04I think now Dr. Sam Suri has to take over this platform and use it in a way that he'll
06:11be able to traject the image of PAS
06:14through Prikatan National platform, that PAS is ready to be a political party for all nations through Prikatan National.
06:22I think within PAS also they realize Prikatan National is the best platform in order to address that issue.
06:27that matters is really being talked about, especially from a state like Selangor.
06:35Definitely, we in Selangor, like myself, we are more than welcome to have Dr. Sam Suri in Selangor
06:41to address the people in Selangor and also to address the concerns that Selangorans have
06:46and also especially the urban voters have towards PAS all this while.
06:51I think Prikatan National will be able to provide that platform.
06:54And by having Dr. Sam Suri there, probably this will be a political game changer
07:00and as the landscape evolving towards the election, hopefully this will bring a more stable,
07:06more policy-focused leadership style and strengthen and appeal towards the general voters,
07:14especially in the West Coast area.
07:16Dr. Tafi, so you said Dr. Sam Suri is moderate, he has a professional background,
07:24he appeals to the moderate of a Malay but also to non-Malays.
07:29If that's the case, then where does that leave Persatu?
07:33Because wasn't that supposed to be your base?
07:35Who is Persatu's base, voter base currently?
07:40So now, I think most important is we complement each other.
07:47I think when Bersatu and PAS decided to form Prikatan National,
07:51we came in with our own strength and also credibilities that we'll be able to bring to the table.
07:59Definitely being within this coalition of Prikatan National,
08:03it's not about dominance or base anymore.
08:06It's about how we project ourselves and also to show the unified leadership that we have within Prikatan National
08:13and to also propose it and to sell it out to the voters, especially the whole nations.
08:22We've seen the way that people voted for Prikatan National back in 2022.
08:27I mean, we are almost there.
08:30It's just not enough numbers to be able to form government on our own.
08:35Definitely in next January election, we want to surpass that numbers.
08:38In order to do that, we have to appeal to especially the urban voters, the mixed areas,
08:44where this will be the battleground.
08:46Where now, from what I gather, especially being in Selangor for the past three years that we are here,
08:53Prikatan National being opposition in Selangor, we do not see PKR or even PH is gaining more momentum in urban
09:05areas,
09:05whereas PN is gaining more momentum in these mixed areas.
09:08So it's a matter of addressing the crowd, the urban voters, by talking more about policy,
09:15less about individuals, less about individual politics.
09:19It's more about policy-driven because these are what the people deserve to get from whatever political party
09:25that they're going to vote later on during the election.
09:28Right.
09:28So less about personalities, more about policy coming up from Bersatu going forward.
09:34Earlier, you said, Dr. Afif, that we shouldn't focus on who's left, but look at who has remained.
09:41When you look at who has remained in Bersatu, does Bersatu have a clear succession plan in place?
09:50Who is next in line after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin?
09:56Are we still, is, Pejak is Faizal Azumu and Razi Jidin, are they ready to step up and take the
10:03reins of Bersatu heading into GE16?
10:07I think, Melissa, it's still a bit too early to answer those questions because we just faced through a very,
10:16I would say, I wouldn't say a turmoil, but more of a crisis that needs to be handled.
10:21Now, I think the focus is because there's a, there's a loopholes being left behind where vacancies need to be
10:29addressed.
10:30And I believe now it's a chance for the party, especially, to be able to, to bring out the youth.
10:39And I will address, especially the young politicians who are able to seize this moment to come up and also
10:46to step up in order to fulfill this role.
10:48I think this will help Bersatu to be able to prepare more young leaders to be, being put forward towards
10:56the next general election.
10:57And I think Tansi Muhyiddin has been very open about this.
11:03He, I mean, I have the, the, the opportunity to work with many other presidents before.
11:10I think in terms of Tansi Muhyiddin's succession plan, he's very clear, he's very consultative, very democratic.
11:17And I think that is needed, especially moving towards new politics in Malaysia.
11:23So Bersatu is, you can't write off yet.
11:27We are here, we are ready.
11:29We are ready to move forward.
11:31And definitely with the leadership of Tansi Muhyiddin,
11:34with the assistance of Dr. Azmi Hiddin, Faizal Azumu, Azmin Ali, and many others,
11:40definitely Bersatu will bring a strong force within Pekatan Nasional and also to be able to capture the minds
11:48and imagination of nations in the next election.
11:51All right, last question from me.
11:53Are you watching, is Bersatu watching closely how Datuk Sri Hamzah moves next, or his next moves?
12:04Towards, for me personally, it's not important anymore.
12:07I think we are moving towards looking at how we'll be able to replace these seats that are being left
12:15by them,
12:16because quite a number of them are in places where Bersatu have won the seats before.
12:22So I think the focus now is to find new leaders, which is already under the pipeline now.
12:29It's already moving.
12:31And that's why I'm on the move now, because I have to meet a few people
12:34in order to rebuild the grassroots and also to rebuild the base that we already established before.
12:41So I think for us, for Bersatu, it's about moving forward.
12:44So like in any relationship, when one's left, so you move on to the next.
12:49So I think that's how we're going to take this approach for Bersatu at the moment.
12:54Dr. Afif, thank you so much for your time, Dr. Afif Parutinda,
12:56from Bersatu, Supreme Council Member.
13:00That's it for this episode of Consider This.
13:03I'm Melissa Idris, signing off for the evening.
13:05Thank you so much for watching and good night.
13:07Thank you so much for watching and good night.
13:08Thank you so much for watching and good night.
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