The Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Malay: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia; abbrev: BERSATU or PPBM) is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (Malay: Persatuan Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia) and founded by members of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) rebel group Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia. It is a major component of the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Full membership in the party is limited only for Bumiputeras (indigenous communities of Malaysia). Non-Bumiputeras are permitted to join the party as associate members who are not eligible to vote and contest party elections.
History
Formation
On 10 August 2016, former UMNO deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin submitted an application for the party's registration with himself as president, Mukhriz Mahathir as deputy president, and Mahathir Mohamad as chairman. BERSATU's formation was undertaken by former members of UMNO in opposition to the then-prime ministerNajib Razak.
The 2018 general election saw the Pakatan Harapan coalition and its allies win 121 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, enough to form a majority government. BERSATU itself won 13 seats and garnered 5.9% of the vote. As the coalition's prime ministerial candidate, Mahathir was sworn in as Malaysia's seventh prime minister at 93 years of age, becoming the world's oldest elected head of government. Mahathir had previously held the position of prime minister from 1981 to 2003, during he led the Barisan Nasional coalition as leader of the United Malays National Organisation.
In the aftermath of the election which ended Barisan Nasional's 60-year-long rule over the country, members of parliament, state assemblymen, and senators defected from UMNO to BERSATU. They included high-ranking UMNO politicians such as Mustapa Mohamed and Hamzah Zainudin, with the latter claiming 36 Barisan Nasional members of parliament had signed a pledge supporting Mahathir. The party also benefitted from an exodus of members from UMNO's Sabah chapter, from which it gained In total, the party gained an additional 12 members of parliament and two senators from May 2018 to February 2019.
Collapse of Pakatan and formation of Perikatan Nasional
The government of Pakatan Harapan collapsed in February 2020 when Mahathir tendered his resignation as prime minister and the party announced its withdrawal from the coalition. This occurred against a backdrop of increasing tension within the coalition and speculation that Mahathir intended to form a new coalition that would exclude his designated successor, Anwar Ibrahim. With the loss of 26 members of parliament from BERSATU as well as an additional eleven members from Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the coalition lost its majority in parliament. The eleven rebel members of parliament, led by Mohamed Azmin Ali, later joined the party.
Mahathir had also resigned as party chairman, a decision which the party's supreme council rejected unanimously in an emergency meeting. Pakatan Harapan member parties also announced their support for Mahathir to remain as prime minister despite his resignation.
The formation of a new coalition government began when BERSATU announced that they would nominate party president Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, although a supreme council member claimed he had neither been invited to discuss or informed about the decision. This was followed by declarations of support from the United Malay National Organisation, the Malaysian Islamic Party, Malaysian Chinese Association, and Malaysian Indian Congress. The nomination faced pushback from youth leader Syed Saddiq, who objected to working with UMNO, suggesting a split within the party over Muhyiddin's candidacy. This was further reinforced when Mahathir announced that he had the necessary support from Pakatan Harapan to return as prime minister and denied having supported Muhyiddin's bid for the position.
In May, Mahathir Mohamad, Mukhriz Mahathir, Syed Saddiq, Maszlee Malik and Amiruddin Hamzah were expelled from the party after opting to sit with the opposition in parliament, citing a provision in the party's constitution that automatically revoked the membership of individuals who joined other parties. Mahathir had initially sought to table a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin during a one-day meeting of parliament, the first since the formation of the new government, but was prevented from doing so after Muhyiddin ordered the speaker to end proceedings immediately after the king's speech.
In June, the party another lost a member of parliament when Shahruddin Md Salleh resigned from his position as Deputy Minister of Works and joined the opposition, referring to his decision to join the government as a "mistake". However, independent member of parliament Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz, a former member of UMNO, would join the party a few days later.
The party was embroiled in a scandal when it was revealed in June and July 2021 that two separate events involving party members had occurred sometime during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, with participants reportedly contravening the Malaysian movement control order, a lockdown imposed by the Malaysian government in response to the pandemic.
Loss of majority in parliament
Tension within the Perikatan Nasional coalition government resulted in Muhyiddin's resignation as prime minister in August 2021. United Malay National Organisation president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the party would be withdrawing its support for the government in July 2021, but faced opposition from Ismail Sabri, the then-deputy prime minister, who led a faction within the party that continued to support Muhyiddin. The split led to uncertainty as to whether Muhyiddin's government continued to possess a majority in parliament, with Muhyiddin ultimately resigning on 16 August. He was succeeded by Ismail Sabri on 21 August, with BERSATU members being appointed in his cabinet.
Return to opposition
The 2022 Malaysian general election saw the party make big gains, particularly in former UMNO strongholds. However, the election resulted in hung parliament. Following Barisan Nasional's decision to form a government with Pakatan Harapan, and Muhyiddin's rejection of a unity government, BERSATU entered into opposition. The party continued to make gains in the 2023 Malaysian state elections, falling just short of a majority in the state of Selangor which it targeted.
However, the post-election period saw massive upheaval due to an intraparty struggle between the factions aligned with Muhyiddin on one side and Hamzah Zainuddin on the other. The dispute led to waves of expulsions and suspensions, including the expulsion of six MPs, Hamzah among them, who went on to found the National Vision Party (WAWASAN) in 2026. An additional eight MPs had their memberships suspended the same year.
The party's continued participation within the Perikatan Nasional coalition was cast in doubt following a dispute with the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which resulted in Muhyiddin's public declaration that he intended to form a new coalition involving parties from Ikatan Prihatin Rakyat (IPR), including Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA) and the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party (URIMAI) in the lead up to the 2026 Negeri Sembilan state election.
Identity
BERSATU was formed by former members of UMNO following fallout from the 1MDB scandal, and was set up as a competitor to UMNO appealing to Malay voters. However, the Malay vote remained mostly split between UMNO and the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), with BERSATU unable to establish a clear identity.
BERSATU remains 44 members across all state legislative assembly despite some of them being sacked
Government offices
State governments
BERSATU currently lead the state of Perlis and worked as coalition partner with PAS in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah state governments. In the past, it led Perak, Johor and Kedah under Pakatan Harapan as well as Perak and Sabah under Perikatan Nasional
↑Nur Hasliza Mohd Salleh (22 October 2022). "Bersatu akan guna logo PAS di Kelantan"[PPBM will use the PAS logo in Kelantan] (in Malay). MalaysiaNow. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
↑Khairil Anwar Mohd Amin (19 July 2020). "Bersatu pecat Ahli Parlimen Sri Gading"[Bersatu sacked Sri Gading Member of Parliament]. Sinar Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 19 July 2020.
