In a Facebook post today, he took aim at certain leaders who he said believed that being a party president was a prerequisite to becoming prime minister.

Mahathir said that as no single party is likely to win the next general election, being a party head means little without support from others.

“If you do not win the general election, you have no chance of becoming prime minister, even with your party’s support,” he said.

“If all Malays unite, the prime minister will be the person they decide that will represent them. There’s no use then in being the head of a party or a party’s prime ministerial candidate,” he said.

While Mahathir did not name any parties, he is understood to be referring to Bersatu and its president Muhyiddin Yassin. Mahathir co-founded Bersatu in 2016 as its chairman, and was sacked from the party in 2020.

The party has lately been beset by division, having seen the sacking of 17 party leaders, including deputy president Hamzah Zainudin, at the height of Hamzah’s leadership tussle with Muhyiddin last month.

Earlier today, political veteran Rais Yatim also criticised his own party, saying it should no longer be called Bersatu – the Malay word for united – as it did not reflect its reality. “Everything in Bersatu is broken, except for its name,” said the former Umno stalwart and former menteri besar of Negeri Sembilan.