Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has urged Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) critics to stop harping about the past actions of its leaders.

He said the opposition must stand together for the push for a new government to become a possibility, and must forget about "small mistakes".

“We all made mistakes when we were in Umno. Some of us headed government departments and were anxious to please Umno leaders.

“We must cease being too critical of our newfound friends and political allies. We must learn to stop harping and we must forget about small mistakes.

“Let’s forge together on the main issues facing the country. If we want to make the push for a new government possible, we must stand together,” he said in a blog post today.

He said that when Bersatu president former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin had made his "Malay first" remark in 2010, he was an Umno leader and that was what was expected of him.

“He is now part of the new opposition team so his previous statements must be taken in their proper context. He will be a good leader for all of us. Accept him and treat him as one of our own,” he urged.

As for Bersatu’s newly-minted vice-president and former Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, he said other heads of public institutions had been subject to Umno propaganda for the past 50 years that only Umno can save the Malays.

“He did not know any other narrative.

“I know him well — he is from Kelantan. He is a kind man although he is anxious about the future of the Malay people. In the past, he sometimes got carried away with his statements,” Zaid said.

He added that he would agree with former Umno secretary-general Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad’s assessment that Bersatu would put up a good fight against Umno.

He said Bersatu seems to have recognised Umno’s failure as a political movement for the Malays, which in turn enabled its president Najib Abdul Razak to stay in power.

Some Malays, he said, do not live in the real world and still believe that only a Malay leader can defend their interests.

“I want (Umno chairperson) Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin to succeed, and I believe the majority of Malays do as well. The Bersatu agenda must be to correct the wrongs Umno has perpetrated on all Malaysians, particularly the Malays […]

“It’s for Tun Dr Mahathir and Bersatu to reorient and re-examine Malay thinking and Malay values. It’s for Bersatu to tell Malays that the world has changed since the days of Hang Tuah.

"It’s for Bersatu to make Malays a people who have integrity and are willing to defend their maruah, or honour.”