Bagaimana BERSATU Ditubuhkan? Belahan Mahathir dan Muhyiddin dari UMNO

On 28 July 2015, a name disappeared from the Cabinet list.

Muhyiddin Yassin was no longer Deputy Prime Minister.

Before that, he had publicly questioned the huge 1MDB debt and said he had once asked Najib to replace the company's board of directors. When Najib reshuffled the Cabinet, Muhyiddin and Shafie Apdal were removed from the centre of power. ^1,2

Mahathir, on the other hand, amplified his attack from outside. He had once helped Najib ascend to the top position in UMNO, but now demanded Najib step down. By 2016, Mahathir had left UMNO and Muhyiddin was dismissed. ^1,2

They were faced with a question: after leaving UMNO, what organization could be used to defeat UMNO?

The Chair and President Were Stated Separately#

In August 2016, Muhyiddin petitioned the Registrar of Societies to establish the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, PPBM or BERSATU. The registration was approved on 9 September. Mahathir became chairperson, Muhyiddin president and Mukhriz deputy president. The Registrar also requested that the party clarify the power difference between the chairperson and the president. ^1,3,4

This was not a youth party that had never held power. Its chairperson had been Prime Minister for 22 years; its president was a former Deputy Prime Minister; its deputy president was a former Prime Minister's son and former Menteri Besar of Kedah. BERSATU's strength and burden thus both came from within UMNO. ^1,2

Why Its Name Needed to Contain “Indigenous”#

The new party did not adopt a fully open multi-ethnic membership structure. Malays and other Bumiputera formed the political core, while non-Bumiputera could initially join as associate members without the same rights in elections and leadership. In 2020, the party was still debating amendments to give associate members a more meaningful organizational space. ^1,5

This design was not a minor detail. Mahathir and Muhyiddin knew that even the most serious allegations against Najib involving corruption, UMNO would still portray the elections as a life-and-death struggle for Malay power. If the opposition consisted only of PKR, DAP, and Amanah, UMNO could tell rural voters that a change of government meant handing Malay leadership over to DAP.

BERSATU's role was to confront that fear and say: you can leave UMNO without abandoning Bumiputera politics. ^1,2

Old Enemies in One Picture#

In 1998, Mahathir dismissed Anwar. In 2016, Mahathir entered Anwar’s political camp.

BERSATU signed a memorandum of cooperation with three PH parties in December 2016 and became the fourth member of the PH Presidential Council in March 2017. PKR had to cooperate with the person who had dismissed Anwar; DAP had to win votes for a leader who had long been criticized; Mahathir and Muhyiddin had to accept shared policies aimed at reforming the UMNO era institutions. ^1,6,7

This is not a sign that peace is finished. All parties acknowledge that without each other, they would struggle to master the electoral system, rural seats, and the BN apparatus.

In January 2018, PH announced Mahathir as the Prime Minister candidate and Wan Azizah as deputy, while keeping a political plan for Anwar to take over later. The reform coalition finally positioned the former 22‑year government at the forefront. ^1,2,7

Fifty-Two Constituencies, Thirteen Seats#

BERSATU contested 52 parliamentary seats in 2018 and won 13. It was not PH’s largest party, but it provided a Prime Ministerial candidate and offered some Malay voters a conventional exit from UMNO. ^1,2

Voters then had to decide whether that contribution was strong enough to end the 61‑year governing record.

Next chapter: Why the government changed in the 2018 election? Former Prime Ministers return with a new party, while Anwar in prison hands his party over to the same coalition. All these odd collaborations await answers on 9 May.