Muhyiddin now in open war with Dr M, declares self as acting Bersatu chair

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin is now in open confrontation with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, claiming that the latter is no longer Bersatu chairperson.

Mahathir had on Monday resigned as Bersatu chairperson but the party had rejected his resignation and convinced him to stay on, which he agreed.

An official announcement was made on Feb 27 by Bersatu secretary-general Marzuki Yahya that Mahathir will remain as Bersatu chairperson.

However, Muhyiddin, in his statement, ignored this fact and said that Mahathir had resigned and therefore he, as the party president, automatically becomes the acting chairperson.

"Mahathir had resigned as Bersatu chairperson on Feb 24.

"According to Article 16.9 of the Bersatu constitution, if the chairperson quits or is sacked, the president will fill the position in an acting capacity until a new chairperson is chosen.

"Bersatu will hold an election for the new chairperson. Therefore, I as the party president will be the acting Bersatu president until the election," he said in the statement.

The move appears to be tactical to allow Muhyiddin to seize control of the party as the Bersatu chairperson is the most powerful position in the party.

Earlier, Marzuki (above) had issued a statement declaring Mahathir's authority over Muhyiddin's but the statement was later retracted.

In that now-retracted statement, it declared that the Bersatu chairperson is the ultimate authority in the party.

Mahathir is trying to thwart Muhyiddin's attempt to form a government with Umno, which has several leaders facing trial for grand corruption.

This morning, Mahathir struck a deal with Harapan to form the new government, scuttling Muhyiddin's plan to get the Perikatan Nasional coalition, which was first initiated last Sunday, back on track.

The Perikatan Nasional coalition was to comprise Bersatu, PKR defectors led by Gombak MP Azmin Ali, BN, PAS, GPS and Warisan.

Muhyiddin's move appears intended to prevent Mahathir from gaining control of Bersatu's MPs.

After gaining the support from Harapan, Mahathir is now trying to get Bersatu, GPS and Warisan to also support him. - Mkini