As Bersatu celebrated its second anniversary, its top leaders stressed that the party must never go down the same path as Umno, the party it split from.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who chairs Bersatu, said he will ensure that the party never ends up like “Najib’s Umno,” referring to its former president Najib Abdul Razak.

“Bersatu will never become Najib’s Umno. We will not prioritise what we are getting.

“Our priority will be to improve the country so that it becomes a developed country. Our focus will be to distribute the country’s wealth fairly and justly.

“There will be no snatching of anyone’s rights or properties, but we will take into account equality and fairness in the distribution of the economy for all races,” he said in his keynote address at the event tonight.

The anniversary event, which saw an audience of 3,000, was held at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam, and was also attended by DAP national chairperson Tan Kok Wai, Parti Warisan Sabah president Mohd Shafie Apdal, PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari. 

'Cannot forget about race just yet'

In his speech, Mahathir admitted that Bersatu is a race-based Malay party, but stressed that this was necessary as Malaysian voters are still very much divided along ethnic lines.

Malays would be uneasy about their future if they are not represented by someone of the same ethnicity, he said, adding that the same also applied to the other ethnic groups in the country.

“Everyone wants to maintain the identity of their race. We still have not reached the level where we can forget about race,” he said.

Mahathir noted that ethnicity may not be a factor at some point in the future, but that it still matters in the present political climate.

Learning from history

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin echoed the message of the party chair, and also cautioned against the party becoming like its rivals by allowing "bad values" to take hold.

“We have to learn from history. Our rival party which was so powerful at one time had their power snatched away due to them committing all kinds of damage through abuse of power. 

“They let bad values seep deep into their party until they were rejected by the rakyat,” he said in his pre-recorded speech which was aired at the event. He was not present at the event due to health concerns.

Muhyiddin also noted that God was testing them by giving them power and seeing what they do with it. 

“Will we use this power to do good or will we bring ruin?” he asked.

If they see power given to them as the trust of the rakyat, he said, Bersatu will use this power for good.

But if they see it as an opportunity to use it for personal gain, then sooner or later the power will ruin them and the party. 

Strengthening the party

As Bersatu is still a young party, Muhyiddin said, there is still time to sow a culture of nobility to ensure the power they wield is used in the right way.

To this end, he identified five main values that the party should strive towards.

Party members should be disciplined and abide by the constitution and the party regulations, and must remember that they carry the rakyat’s trust and hope.

“As the ruling party, the rakyat place high hopes on us to fulfil our promises to them. 

“The rakyat are watching and judging our every move. We must take care of our image as the ruling party so that the rakyat continue to have utmost confidence in our ability to govern the country well,” he said. 

Thirdly, he stressed unity among their friends in the Pakatan Harapan coalition, saying that everyone has their own weaknesses. 

Instead of highlighting these weaknesses, he said, everyone should work together to help build each other up. 

He also reminded Bersatu members to prioritise the fight. 

“I want to remind that we are still at a crucial point of our fight. As the country is being fixed, there are still many sacrifices we must make.

"So don’t be disappointed if there are some requests which cannot be fulfilled right now,” he said. 

Lastly, Muhyiddin said Bersatu members must remain committed and always work to strengthen the party – the formation of more branches and divisions, and accepting more members into the party. 

“Do not block anyone from joining our party because our strength is our members. 

“Show our commitment to the party by immediately forming more Bersatu branches throughout the country,” he said.

Sacrifices ahead

In his speech at the event, Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir said that there are still sacrifices to be made, despite the success they have achieved thus far.

“Our success in the 14th general election where we could form the government does not mean that we can now sit comfortably and stop our efforts to forge ahead.

“The rakyat is hoping that we do not follow in Umno’s footsteps in abusing our power,” he warned.

Earlier, Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman also drove home a similar message. 

He warned Bersatu members against letting their party become another Umno and said that there is much work left to be done. 

The splinter party was formed by Mahathir, Muhyiddin, Mukhriz and several others back in 2016 when they left Umno.