KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today confirmed he will be contesting the chairman post in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) ahead of the party’s inaugural polls in June.
Dr Mahathir, in announcing his decision, said he has decided to do so in a bid to “save” the party.
“I, Dr Mahathir, am the party’s founder and No. 1 member. I offer myself to contest the chairman to save Bersatu which has seen several leaders cooperating with kleptocrats and Umno to form a government through the back door. Join our fight to return the party to the right path,” he said in a statement on his official Facebook page.
Dr Mahathir submitted his nomination papers through the party’s Selayang division chief, Zulkifli Mohamad. They were submitted at around 1.40pm today at the party’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya.
Bersatu, which is a former founding member of Pakatan Harapan (PH), split into two following the decision of its incumbent president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to take Bersatu out of the coalition on February 24, thus depriving the coalition of the parliamentary majority it needs to govern.
Muhyiddin had steered Bersatu to cooperate with PKR defectors, Barisan Nasional, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak to form the new Perikatan Nasional government against Dr Mahathir’s wishes, replacing PH.
This eventually triggered the collapse of the PH government and Muhyiddin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister on March 1.
Muhyiddin also submitted his nomination papers for the position of Bersatu president through his political secretary earlier today.
Instead of gunning for the position of chairman, Muhyiddin appears to be avoiding a direct confrontation with Dr Mahathir.