| Malaysian United Indigenous Party | |||
| Lang1: | Malay | ||
| Name Lang1: | Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia ڤرتي ڤريبومي برساتو مليسيا | ||
| Lang2: | Chinese | ||
| Name Lang2: | 土著团结党 Tǔzhù tuánjié dǎng | ||
| Lang3: | Tamil | ||
| Name Lang3: | மலேசிய ஐக்கிய மக்கள் கட்சி Malēciya aikkiya makkaḷ kaṭci | ||
| Colorcode: |
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| Abbreviation: | BERSATU / PPBM | ||
| President: | Muhyiddin Yassin | ||
| Chairperson: | Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah | ||
| Secretary General: | Mohamed Azmin Ali | ||
| Spokesperson: | Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz | ||
| Leader1 Title: | Deputy President | ||
| Leader1 Name: | Hamzah Zainudin | ||
| Leader2 Title: | Vice-Presidents | ||
| Leader3 Title: | Youth Chief | ||
| Leader3 Name: | Muhammad Hilman Idham | ||
| Leader4 Title: | Women Chief | ||
| Leader4 Name: | Mas Ermieyati Samsudin | ||
| Founded: | [1] [2] | ||
| Registered: | [3] | ||
| Legalised: | [4] | ||
| Split: | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) People's Justice Party (PKR) | ||
| Predecessor: | Persatuan Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia | ||
| Headquarters: | Tingkat 8, Menara Yayasan Selangor, No 18A Jalan Persiaran Barat PJS 52 46200 Petaling Jaya | ||
| Newspaper: | MY BERSATU[5] Unofficial: MalaysiaNow | ||
| Think Tank: | Institut Masa Depan Malaysia | ||
| Youth Wing: | Armada BERSATU | ||
| Womens Wing: | Srikandi BERSATU | ||
| Wing1 Title: | Women's youth wing | ||
| Wing1: | Srikandi Muda BERSATU | ||
| Membership Year: | 2023 | ||
| Membership: | 600,667 (2023)[6] | ||
| Position: | Right-wing Historical: Centre-right | ||
| Regional: | Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (2020–2022) | ||
| National: | Pakatan Harapan (2017–2020) Perikatan Nasional (since 2020) | ||
| Colours: | Red and white | ||
| Slogan: | Bersatu, Beramanah, Bermaruah | ||
| Anthem: | Perjuangan Kita | ||
| Seats1 Title: | Dewan Negara | ||
| Seats1: |
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| Seats2 Title: | Dewan Rakyat | ||
| Seats2: |
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| Seats3 Title: | State Legislative Assemblies | ||
| Seats3: |
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| Seats4 Title: | Chief ministers of states | ||
| Symbol: | [7] | ||
| Country: | Malaysia | ||
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:) 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 to only Bumiputeras (indigenous communities of Malaysia). Non-Bumiputeras can join the party as associate members, who are not eligible to vote and contest party elections.[8]
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 vice-president, and Mahathir Mohamad as chairman. BERSATU's formation was undertaken by former members of UMNO in opposition to the then-prime minister Najib Razak.[9]
On 12 November 2016, Mahathir announced that the party would join the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition, which then consisted of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the Democratic Action Party, and Parti Amanah Negara, pending the decision of the Malaysian Islamic Party, another opposition party. He expressed the need for a united opposition in order to defeat the incumbent Barisan Nasional government.[10] [11] It officially joined the coalition on 13 December.[12]
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,[13] Mahathir was sworn in as Malaysia's fourth prime minister at 93 years of age, becoming the world's oldest elected head of government.[14] 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.[15]
In the aftermath of the election which ended Barisan Nasiona'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.[16] 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.[17] [18] [19]
See main article: 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis. 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.[20] [21] The eleven rebel members of parliament, led by Azmin Ali, later joined the party.[22]
Mahathir had also resigned as party chairman, a decision which the party's supreme council rejected unanimously in an emergency meeting.[23] [24] 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,[25] although a supreme council member claimed he had neither been invited to discuss or informed about the decision.[26] This was followed by declarations of support from the United Malay National Organisation, the Malaysian Islamic Party, Malaysian Chinese Association, and Malaysian Indian Congress.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29]
Muhyiddin was sworn in as the country's eight prime minister on 1 March, leading the newly founded Perikatan Nasional coalition consisting of the United Malay National Organisation, Malaysian Islamic Party, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, Homeland Solidarity Party, and BERSATU into government.[30] [31]
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.[32] [33] 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.[34]
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".[35] [36] However, independent member of parliament Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz, a former member of UMNO, would join the party a few days later.[37]
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.[38] [39] [40]
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.[41] The split led to uncertainty as to whether Muhyiddin's government continued to possess a majority in parliament,[42] with Muhyiddin ultimately resigning on 16 August.[43] He was succeeded by Ismail Sabri on 21 August,[44] with BERSATU members being appointed in his cabinet.
Chairman
| Order | Name | Term of office | Remarks | Mandates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahathir Mohamad | 7 September 2016 | 24 February 2020 | – | |
| – | Muhyiddin Yassin | 24 February 2020 | 23 August 2020 | Acting | 1st (2020) |
| Position abolished[45] | |||||
President
Deputy President
| Order | Name | Term of office | Remarks | Mandates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mukhriz Mahathir | 7 September 2016 | 28 May 2020 | – | |
| 2 | Ahmad Faizal Azumu | 23 August 2020 | 29 November 2024 | 1st (2020) | |
| 3 | Hamzah Zainudin | 29 November 2024 | Incumbent | 2nd (2024) | |
Youth Chief
| Order | Name | Term of office | Remarks | Mandates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman | 7 September 2016 | 28 May 2020 | – | |
| 2 | Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal | 23 August 2020 | 29 November 2024 | 1st (2020) | |
| 3 | Muhammad Hilman Idham | 29 November 2024 | Incumbent | 2nd (2024) | |
See main article: Members of the Dewan Negara, 15th Malaysian Parliament.
See main article: Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 15th Malaysian Parliament. BERSATU has 25 members in the House of Representatives.
| State | No. | Parliament Constituency | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P002 | BERSATU | |||||
| P004 | BERSATU | |||||
| P006 | BERSATU | |||||
| P014 | BERSATU | |||||
| P017 | BERSATU | |||||
| P018 | BERSATU | |||||
| P026 | BERSATU | |||||
| P027 | BERSATU | |||||
| P029 | BERSATU | |||||
| P038 | BERSATU | |||||
| P042 | BERSATU | |||||
| P054 | BERSATU | |||||
| P056 | BERSATU | |||||
| P061 | BERSATU | |||||
| P074 | BERSATU | |||||
| P082 | BERSATU | |||||
| P091 | BERSATU | |||||
| P092 | BERSATU | |||||
| P093 | BERSATU | |||||
| P125 | BERSATU | |||||
| P134 | BERSATU | |||||
| P143 | Pagoh | Muhyiddin Yassin | BERSATU | |||
| P154 | BERSATU | |||||
| P183 | BERSATU | |||||
| P205 | BERSATU | |||||
| Total | ||||||
See main article: List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (2023–present). Perlis State Legislative AssemblyKedah State Legislative AssemblySelangor State Legislative AssemblyTerengganu State Legislative AssemblyPerak State Legislative AssemblyKelantan State Legislative AssemblyPenang State Legislative AssemblyMalacca State Legislative AssemblyNegeri Sembilan State Legislative AssemblyPahang State Legislative AssemblyJohor State Legislative AssemblySabah State Legislative AssemblySarawak State Legislative Assembly
| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Voting Percentage | Outcome of election | Election leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 52 | 718,648 | 5.95% | 13 seats; Governing coalition | |||
| 2022 | 87 (under PN) 6 (under GRS) | 2,196,236 | 14.16% | 21 seats; Opposition coalition / Governing coalition |
| State election | State Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total won / Total contested | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2/3 majority | - | 2016 | --> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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