Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared that his party is currently the only standalone opposition party in the Malaysian Parliament. He emphasized that Bersatu today faces greater challenges but must survive to defend the people's interests [1, 2, 3].
Muhyiddin pointed to Perikatan Nasional's (PN) political cooperation with Barisan Nasional (BN) as the reason PN no longer serves as a true opposition force, indirectly supporting the government instead. He criticized both BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) for holding federal and several state government positions and accused them of shared responsibility in policies that burden Malaysians. Muhyiddin cited higher diesel and petrol prices, rising living costs, and stalled institutional reforms as consequences of their rule [1, 2, 3].
He further alleged that UMNO and BN deflect blame while benefiting from government positions and manipulating Malay-Muslim unity politics to consolidate power. "Believe me, this is a charade to deceive the Malays and the people for the sake of gaining power," Muhyiddin said, labeling their political tactics as mere theatre aimed at public deception [1, 2, 3].
Bersatu was originally founded as an opposition party rooted in the fight against kleptocracy tied to the 1MDB scandal. Muhyiddin emphasized the party's mission to remain steadfast despite political challenges. He warned that currently there is no other credible party capable of providing effective checks and balances on government policies [1, 2, 3].
Recent political tensions have also been fueled by PAS' decision to cooperate with BN in the Negeri Sembilan state election. Muhyiddin suggested this contributed to divisions within the opposition camp [1, 2].
On July 18, 2026, Muhyiddin posted on Facebook reiterating Bersatu's position as the sole standalone opposition party and criticizing PN's cooperation with BN. He repeated his warnings about UMNO and BN's political maneuvers in a public statement the same day [2, 3].
