Politics is beyond logic. Sometimes, most times.

When defection in Amanah takes place, it usually involves crossing over to PKR, the party’s ally in the Pakatan Harapan fold. And the explanation given, or should I say the “logic” for the switch, is disagreement on Amanah’s choice for prime minister should PH come back to federal power.

It is no big secret, in that sense, Amanah is split between those supporting the PH choice Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the pro-Mahathir group.

The political fraternity has always believed that the party’s top leadership (most of them anyway) are in favor of Mahathir for the top post once again, as opposed to those who want Anwar to be PM.

Of course, there are leaders who want what they call a win-win situation, proposing Anwar as PM, Mahathir as senior minister — something many people, not only in Amanah but PH itself, feel won’t work.

So, too many political observers.

Therefore, those who left Amanah do so in protest of the leadership’s decision to back Mahathir. That’s what many believe, anyway. Hence, the logic of joining PKR, Anwar’s party.

Last year, two Selangor assemblymen from Amanah defected to PKR. A few days ago, three Amanah assemblymen left to join PKR.

Then came this report from Malaysiakini.

According to the news portal, checks it carried out showed that former Pahang Amanah chief Hamzah Jaafar had left quietly and joined PKR in July last year.

Well, that move is in line with the usual script. From Amanah to Anwar-led PKR presumably in support of the PKR president. But wait!

On Feb 28, said Malaysiakini, yet-to-be-officially-registered Parti Pejuang Tanah Air announced Hamzah as its new chief for Pahang!

And we know who is helming Pejuang. No, I’m not referring to Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, the party president. You guessed it. I am talking about the man who is bigger than Mukhriz. His father.

So, did Hamzah left Amanah to first support Anwar then went on to Mahathir? Why not back the 95-year-old leader from the start? Why the “transit” in PKR?

I’ll repeat what I said at the start of this piece. Politics is beyond logic, apart from being the art of the possible, as said so very often.

Anyway, back to the three Johor Amanah defectors. Some analysts were quoted by NST as saying the defection is like moving into a new room in the same house, obviously referring to the fact they left their party to join another party in the same coalition.

And in admitting Amanah is cheesed off, they do not see the coalition in danger of a break-up.

Strange it may sound, the analysts interviewed by the paper somehow feel the move “could strengthen the opposition coalition”. 

Still, it has led to tensions between Amanah and PKR (despite Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and Anwar being close friends).

Why the strained ties between the two parties? Obviously because PKR accepted the trio with open arms, so to speak. Isn’t there an agreement among PH parties not to pinch or accept each other’s members?

Yet, PKR accepted the defectors. Well, they have their reasons surely. Rightly or wrongly.

The PKR folks are saying it’s better for the defectors to join their allies rather than joining the enemy, i.e. parties in Perikatan Nasional.

But a number of people outside the party say defection is a defection no matter what reminding everybody that PH (PKR included, naturally) has spoken strongly against it.

Now, Amanah Bukit Bintang has called on the party national leadership to review its ties or cooperation with PKR. Strong message indeed regardless of its hierarchy in the party overall set-up.

To veteran political watcher Mohd Sayuti Omar, such a call “is not healthy and an effort to shift the blame to others”.

Such a call, according to Sayuti, could see the situation worsening.

Instead, he sees the departure of the trio (and the two from Selangor last year) could be due to frustration arising from “the failure of the leadership in dealing with the Anwar-Mahathir issue and for not moving the party forward”.

We know Amanah was supposed to be PH’s answer in checking PAS with its moderate and tolerant Islamic values compared to PAS’ conservative and hardline interpretation of Islam.

That Amanah has not been able to achieve, according to many a political observer, including Sayuti.

And it’s an open secret that Amanah supporters are not happy with regards to the party membership drive. And of a greater concern, Amanah’s efforts in trying to make inroads (if at all) into the Malay heartland.

As Sayuti sees it, the issue at hand is not the defections to PKR or any other party within the PH fold. Rather it’s about why they left.

“Amanah should study and do analysis on the situation the party is in now, identify the weaknesses and rectify them. Settle the internal problems to move forward.”

In a nutshell, he is saying it’s not about Anwar, Mahathir and what not. It’s about putting their house in order.

You know what? Sayuti is probably right.

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)