KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Bersatu Srikandi chief Datuk Seri Rina Harun said she hoped there will be a reconciliation between party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s team and former chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s faction.
Speaking to reporters after congratulating Muhyiddin at his private residence today, the Titiwangsa lawmaker insisted that the party still “respects” Dr Mahathir as a leader.
“We are a family. Please don’t make such statements, it saddens me,” said Rina when asked why she was with Muhyiddin when she was perceived to be a Dr Mahathir supporter.
“We are in one family. Sometimes there’s a disagreement but Insha’Allah, we will resolve this internal issue well.”
She said the row between Malaysia’s seventh and eighth prime ministers will be resolved peacefully in time.
Dr Mahathir resigned unexpectedly as the prime minister last week, allowing Muhyiddin to secure the position for himself through an alliance with former rivals PAS and Umno, among others.
He said earlier today that he felt betrayed by Muhyiddin and suggested that the latter had been plotting against him for some time.
Bersatu pulled out of Pakatan Harapan after Dr Mahathir’s resignation, contributing to its collapse.
After a week of intrigue and confusion, Muhyiddin emerged unexpectedly as the front runner for the position and was sworn in today as the prime minister of a new Perikatan Nasional government.
The majority of Bersatu remained with Muhyiddin but Dr Mahathir still has pockets of support in the party.
Touching on disciplinary action against the party’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Marzuki Yahya and Youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Rina said these were internal party matters.
She also said that they have not discussed Cabinet portfolios with Muhyiddin and she is not sure when Parliament will resume next.
