At one time, the silence of night was broken by the murmurs of gossip. An Umno stalwart had left the organisation, and a new party had been born.

The defection at the time raised serious questions among opposition leaders.

Would this new entity just be an Umno splinter party? Could their old foe be trusted?

These were the doubts expressed by DAP and PAS almost 20-years ago when then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim left Umno and formed PKR, according to a party leader.