10 - Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in Johor: New Party, Big Responsibility

Summary

INTRODUCTION

On 9 September 2016 the Malaysian Registrar of Societies (RoS) gave approval for the establishment of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), following the splintering of the main party in the country's ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). PPBM was then officially launched on 14 January 2017, boasting some of the most famous names in Malaysian politics today as its top leaders. Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was named as Chairman, and former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as President. Former Chief Minister of the northern Malaysian state of Kedah, Mukhriz Mahathir, who is Mahathir's son, was named Deputy President.

Right from the start, PPBM projected itself as a party that champions the Malay agenda. This is a position traditionally dominated by UMNO, who has always been able to fend off other contenders. PPBM's Malay agenda also bucks the trend among Malaysian opposition parties who usually prefer to take a more multiracial and multicultural approach. This is a bold strategy, and makes clear that PPBM aims to replace UMNO as the political party for ethnic Malays in Malaysia. Bearing in mind that UMNO today is led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is suffering from various allegations of corruption and whose popularity rating has been very low for many months (Time, 23 May 2017), the establishment of PPBM is a development that cannot be ignored.

Soon after the party obtained the RoS approval, Muhyiddin declared that it would work towards wresting the southern state of Johor from the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN) (Bernama, 9 October 2016). This announcement was not surprising. Johor is after all Muhyiddin's home ground. Not only is he member of parliament for the Johor constituency of Pagoh, he was Chief Minister of the state from 1986 to 1995. Johor is also the birthplace of UMNO and has remained the party's bastion since 1946, which makes the proclamation by Muhyiddin worth scrutinizing further. Is this a realistic target for the fledgling party? This chapter seeks to answer that question.

It presents the author's analysis of media coverage and academic literature on the topic, together with findings from extensive fieldwork conducted between April and August 2017. During the fieldwork, interviews were conducted with national, state and divisional leaders and activists of PPBM, other parties in the opposition coalition, and UMNO.