Mahathir, a former Umno president, said that no single Malay party could prevail, as the proliferation of parties had fragmented the community and set them against one another.

As a result, the Malays had become the “losers”, putting the nation at risk, with Tanah Melayu becoming a land that belongs to others, he said.

“Who is to blame? The fault lies with the Malays themselves.

“This is their final struggle,” he said in a Facebook post.

Mahathir said there was a time when the Malays were united under a single party – Umno – and together, they had freed Malaya from the British colonisers.

“(But) what mattered was not Umno itself, but the unity it fostered,” he added.

On Friday, Mahathir said being a party president or prime ministerial candidate mattered less than one’s ability to unite the Malays.

Mahathir – who previously led Umno, Bersatu and Pejuang – launched several attempts to unite the Malays through the years.

He formed the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition involving Malay parties, NGOs, academics and professionals in August 2022 and contested the general election that year, but every candidate lost their deposit, including Mahathir himself.

The former prime minister also launched a new Malay unity alliance in June last year, although its fate remains unclear with key figures like opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin falling out.