Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is not ashamed, even though the world describes him as a "thief" following claims of money laundering activities involving state investment fund 1MDB.

He said many Malaysians were taunted about their prime minister at immigration outlets when they travelled overseas and they are often asked, "Is this passport from Malaysia?"

"What to do, our passport is from Malaysia, so we say 'yes'," Muhyiddin said.

"Then the person at the counter will say, 'I know your prime minister, he is a thief'.

"We are truly ashamed when confronted with such situations, but Najib is not ashamed at all as he is thick-skinned," Muhyiddin said.

"We know how to feel ashamed and that is why we cannot continue to allow Najib to be prime minister. He is not fit to be our PM," added the former deputy prime minister, who was sacked in 2016 after raising questions on the controversial fund.

Muhyiddin was speaking at Padang Kota Lama in Penang last night, at the Harapan-led state government's 10th-anniversary celebration of having taken over the state from the BN in 2008.

Muhyiddin's reference to the word "thief" was based on several news reports on the 1MDB this week, including a report in The Economist on Najib and the next general election due this year, titled "Stop, thief! Malaysia's PM is about to steal an election", stating that Najib would rig the system by means of gerrymandering and malapportionment, among other tactics.

The article followed several reports in the international media about the seizure in Indonesia's of the super-expensive yacht, The Equanimity, belonging to Penang-born business tycoon Low Taek Jho.

Jho Low, as he is popularly known, is alleged to have acquired the RM1 billion yacht with monies from the 1MDB, as stated by the US Department of Justice in its investigation into money laundering from 1MDB.

The 1MDB scandal also made it to the front page of the leading Indonesian magazine Tempo.

Last Friday night, MSNBC television host Rachel Maddow on her news programme "The Rachel Maddow Show" mocked Jho Low and Najib when she kept pointing at the "Arab donation", saying Najib did not explain well how about the millions of dollars that ended up in his private bank account.

Muhyiddin said such shameful incidents brought together Harapan allies Bersatu, DAP, PKR and Amanah to fight the forthcoming general election, as no single party can topple BN and Umno, which have won the elections for 60 years.

He conceded that to seize Putrajaya, Malay support for Harapan was necessary and that currently, it was not enough.

"That is why the only way was to form Bersatu. We are not a racist Malay party but the intention is to penetrate all Malay areas," he explained.

Muhyiddin added: "Because Bersatu is such, we would like to say that we are now able to enter all Felda areas, which we could not step foot in before as they are Umno strongholds and Harapan is not allowed inside.

"However, these days the Felda settlers welcome Mahathir and me with open arms."

Muhyiddin urged Chinese and Indian voters to recognise that the time was right for Harapan to seize the federal government.

"I must tell you this so that the Chinese will believe the time is right. You have supported Harapan, but it was not enough to make the change happen at the federal level.

"But now, the Malays have recognised that they do not want to support BN. If the Chinese and Indians also do not support, but all support Harapan, a wave of change will happen," he said.

"Because, for decades, the Malays have been told that they can only vote for BN, that they cannot vote for DAP, the Chinese party that is chauvinistic, as Malays will die. But I did not see any Malay die in Penang because of DAP," he joked.

Accompanying Muhyiddin at the event, which attracted thousands of Harapan supporters were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his father DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir.