Is Muhyiddin Truly Done Not So Fast

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Like Rais Hussin and Faiz Na’aman, I was once part of Bersatu. I stepped away from the party on my own terms. I am no longer involved, but I still follow what is happening.
Muhyiddin Yassin is still the Bersatu president. But lately, there has been more noise from inside the party calling for a leadership change.
Some say it is time to move on. Some say it is part of political renewal. In reality, it looks more like a planned effort to slowly push him aside.
Let’s not forget how this party came to be. Muhyiddin was among the first to speak up against 1MDB when he was still in government.
He lost his post and was removed from Umno because of that. Bersatu was formed not to chase positions, but to clean up a broken system.
Muhyiddin’s steady role
In 2018, Bersatu helped form a new government. Muhyiddin didn’t look for attention, but he played a steady role. He gave structure and direction when the party was still new and unstable. Without that, Bersatu might not have lasted.
In 2020, Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned. The government collapsed. For a while, there was no clear leader.
In that vacuum, Muhyiddin stepped in and formed a government. It wasn’t ideal, but it prevented a worse breakdown. He did what needed to be done at the time.
When his government lost majority support in 2021, he stepped down. No drama. No last-minute tricks. He handed over power to Ismail Sabri Yaakob and moved on. That is rare in our politics.
During the pandemic, his government introduced cash assistance, loan moratoriums, and ran a national vaccination programme. The delivery was not perfect, but it helped. Many people, especially those outside the cities, still remember that period.
Even now, it’s not unusual to hear people refer to him as “abah”. That was not branding. It came naturally from how he handled the crisis - calm, clear, and present. It stuck because it felt real.
Hard to ignore
But now, the internal shift in Bersatu is hard to ignore. Some leaders who once claimed to fight corruption are now defending the very figures Bersatu was formed to reject. This is not just about replacing one man. It looks more like a change in direction.
Muhyiddin is not above criticism. No leader is. But what is happening to him now is not about an honest review. It is about removing someone who no longer fits certain plans.
Bersatu can move forward. But if it forgets how and why it was formed, it risks becoming just another party with no clear stand.
And when that forgetting is done on purpose, people notice. - Mkini
MAHATHIR MOHD RAIS is a former Federal Territories Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional secretary.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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