Among the more controversial figures to join Bersatu's ranks today is Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya, who came under heavy fire in 2017 when he suggested that marriage between rapists and their victims could remedy social ills.

A year prior, Shabudin highlighted alleged corruption in then-Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s purchase of a bungalow in Jalan Pinhorn, which resulted in criminal charges that were subsequently dropped...