‘We Established The Party To Replace Umno,’ Dr Mahathir Reminds Bersatu Members In Special May 9 Address

(MMO) – Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today reminded his party that it was established to replace Umno, as the latter has abandoned its responsibilities to the Malay and Bumiputera community.

In a special May 9 address today in conjunction with the anniversary of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) triumph at the 14th general election in 2018, the former prime minister reminded Bersatu members of their true purpose.

“We must remember that we established Bersatu not as a mixed party, like other parties. We established Bersatu for the Malays and the Bumiputera because Umno no longer prioritises the Malays and the Bumiputera, that is why Bersatu was established.

“And if we do away with Bersatu, possibly due to the actions of Umno, then the party intended to fight for religion, country and race will be lost, as Umno now only fights to save Datuk Seri Najib,” he said, referring to former Umno president and prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Dr Mahathir then urged Bersatu members to rethink their original pledge amid factional tensions within the party that split its support between PH and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration that Umno is also a part of.

“I hope, on this second anniversary, Bersatu members will reflect on the reason why they joined Bersatu, and that is because they no longer trusted Umno, who now has been taken, through deceitful means, into the government, along with their values,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also reminded Bersatu members that the PN administration, led by PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, does not exist and pointed to the alleged claims that Umno, as a party, does not support the ruling coalition.

“For Bersatu members, I would like to remind them that when they broke into two factions, the faction that supports the actions of Muhyiddin to form the government should [remember] that Muhyiddin’s promise to form a coalition with Umno and PAS did not come to fruition,” he said, in reference to what Bersatu members had originally hope for.

“And another hope was that when it comes to elections, we would be contesting as a coalition whereby Umno would not challenge the same seats as Bersatu. But now, Umno has said it will contest all its usual seats including those held by Bersatu and former Umno members.

“So what is the position of Bersatu? On the one hand, we do not have the support of Umno, and on the other, we do not have the support of PH.

“So Bersatu is without direction. We have no footing. We do not know where we stand. Of course, if there is an election, Bersatu might not even make it. Bersatu might suffer a horrible loss and the hope of the Malays to replace Umno with another Malay party will be lost,” he said.