SHAH ALAM – Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is revealed to have been offered the opportunity to lead a unity government with Pakatan Harapan (PH) following the 15th General Election (GE15).
Former Principal Private Secretary to Muhyiddin, Datuk Dr Marzuki Mohamad said the former prime minister had chosen the more difficult path by continuing to uphold Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) principle of not cooperating with DAP.
“After GE15, he (Muhyiddin) was offered to form a unity government with PH. I do not know the details of the offer.
“He never told me about it, but according to sources close to him, if Muhyiddin had accepted the offer, he would have been the Prime Minister. This decision was correct in terms of principle, but it placed Muhyiddin in a more difficult position politically,” said Marzuki in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
Marzuki described that Muhyiddin again faced a similar situation when he was offered the opportunity to return to lead Umno during his time as the eighth prime minister.
According to him, had the offer been accepted, the Pagoh Member of Parliament’s political journey would likely have been much smoother.
“If he had accepted this offer, Umno would have been under his control and certainly, there would have been no withdrawal of support from Umno MPs towards him.
He wanted Bersatu and Umno to focus on the elections first and win together. The rest could be thought about later.
“If this offer had been accepted, he could have remained as prime minister without being challenged by Umno, but Bersatu, the party he founded, might have been dissolved,” he said.
Marzuki added that Muhyiddin’s choice to take the harder road could also be seen in his decision not to defend his position as Bersatu President during the 2023 Bersatu Annual General Assembly two years ago.
He said Muhyiddin had even called him on the night of the event to ask about his stance.
“I gave a short reply, ‘He must stand by his decision.’ Following pressure from delegates who wanted Muhyiddin to continue leading Bersatu, he eventually agreed to serve for another term,” he said.