Mahathir, Muhyiddin agree to strengthen PN ahead of polls

Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin met yesterday, with both leaders reaching an understanding on several issues, in a sign of the two former prime ministers moving on from their fallout since the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020.

In a statement, Muhyiddin said he had a "long" discussion which took place in "mutual respect" with Mahathir on many issues, especially on the future of the Malays, a topic that Mahathir has been focusing on in recent times.

Muhyiddin however said there was no specific discussion on Mahathir's Malay Proclamation, a document the latter issued recently, where he had said that Malay rights have waned over the years and must be restored through political unity of Malay groups.

"In principle, we agreed to strengthen the unity of the Malays and increase support for Perikatan Nasional, especially ahead of the elections in six states," Muhyiddin said.

In 2016, Mahathir joined hands with Muhyiddin to form Bersatu, after the latter was sacked from Umno for criticising then-prime minister Najib Razak's involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

The Malay-based party later partnered with PH, and in 2018, toppled Barisan Nasional (BN).

Differences soon emerged between Bersatu and other PH partners following calls to name Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, in keeping with an understanding that the PKR leader would take over the top office in the mid-term.

Mahathir resigned as the split widened, causing the collapse of PH's 22-month government. Meanwhile, Bersatu and about a dozen PKR MPs formed a coalition with BN and Sarawak's GPS, with Muhyiddin named as the eighth prime minister.

The move drew protests from Mahathir, who was later sacked from Bersatu.

Muhyiddin himself resigned some 17 months later, following a series of defections of Umno MPs in a move engineered by Najib and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.