Calls To Reject Muhyiddin As Potential Pm11 Reverberate After Nation Wrecking Past Stint As Pm8

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ONCE bitten, twice shy.
That seems to be the clear message from political analyst Prof James Chin when he urged voters to reject Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin as Malaysia’s next Prime Minister (PM).
Reminding that the Bersatu president has put the nation under emergency rule during his 17-month reign as PM8 March 1, 2020 to Aug 16, 2021), the inaugural director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania simply declared, “do we want him again? I think NOT.”
A reminder to all that this is the person who put Malaysia under emergency rule to bypass parliament … do we want him again? I think NOT.  pic.twitter.com/VNUQsoyZcP
— James Chin (@jameschin110) September 8, 2025

The self-confessed Sarawak Laksa lover was reacting to news that Bersatu had endorsed the 78-year-old for the top job if Perikatan Nasional (PN) is successful in winning the 16th General Election (GE16) which must be held by Feb 17, 2028.
That may seem a long time off but with the current party machinations in almost pre-polls mood as evidenced by the jostling for positions, online commenters had plenty to say of Chin’s observation on X.
Many agreed with the academician with one labelling the self-styled Abah as “arrogant and chauvinistic”.  There were plenty of other resounding ‘nays’ in the comments as well.

The Pagoh MP’s numerous shortcomings and failures during his 17-month ‘backdoor’ premiership stint in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move were also highlighted as further proof why Malaysians at large are NOT keen to have him back in the hot seat.
These included prolonged lockdowns and mismanagement of the COVID 19 crisis with the highest infection rate in Asia. The declaration of emergency, corruption scandal and flagrant overspending of public funds were all used as a stick to beat the former one-term PM.

The taint of corruption was a constant theme indicating that the rakyat is fed up of scandal-ridden personalities being voted into office.

One commenter further pointed out the tendency of members of UMNO, Bersatu and PAS taking the moral high ground regarding abuse of power “with regard to PM6 (Datuk Seri Najib Razak), PM8 and PM9 (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob)” yet still throw their support behind the worst offenders.

Referencing past political manoeuvres to remove an incumbent government, some commenters argued that karma is biting back with the Bersatu head honcho facing uncertainty over his own political future.
They included using statutory delectations (SDs) to oust the then Pakatan Harapan (PH 1.0) government and currently with 120 (out of 202) Bersatu divisions nationwide using the same tactic in wanting deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin to replace the 78-year-old Muhyiddin.

Malaysians raised the ‘white flag’ as a silent protest during Abah’s first tenure. Do we want a repeat?

In spite of the misgivings of the Senior Fellow at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute, there were those who felt that the Bersatu leader was a viable alternative to the “failed and corrupt” Madani administration.

The rakyat is crying out for a leader who is free of scandal, not one anchored by it. Is there no one aside from Abah to mount a proper challenge to PMX?
Amid all the subterfuge that is local politics, the lack of alternatives is a damning indictment of state of affairs in Malaysia. –  Focus Malaysia

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