The Malaysian Insight

BERSATU was reminded to learn from Umno’s mistakes or risk being rejected by the people, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Bersatu chairman reminded party members that Umno was rejected by the people because it had forgotten the purpose of the party’s formation. 

“We won the last election because they (Umno) were weak, not because we are strong. We don’t even have as many members as them. They forgot their purpose,” he said when addressing party members at Bersatu’s third anniversary celebrations in Shah Alam tonight. 

Some 2,000-odd members attended the gathering.

“The party (Umno) was initially formed to fight for and achieve independence. They wanted to fight for the freedom of the people and this is why that got incredible support,” he said. 

“This is why they won 13 straight general elections.”

However, he said, Umno had lost its way and had stopped fighting for the people, but instead party members wanted to enrich themselves and their families. 

“They thought they were invincible because they helped the nation achieve independence. They also thought they could give the people money and keep on winning,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the people had grown tired and angry with the party, which had forgotten its struggle.

He then warned Bersatu members to learn from these mistakes and not to repeat them.

“We must remember that the party we defeated was rejected by the people. We can be like that if we don’t watch out.

“We need to learn not just from our experiences but by looking at what happened to other parties. Their victories and failures can teach us,” he said. – September 12, 2019.