AFTER 40 years in politics, Muhyiddin Yassin was ready to retire when his term of office expired by the 14th general election.

During the swearing-in ceremony in 2013, he said as much to his boss Najib Razak, as the two took their oaths as deputy prime minister and prime minister respectively in the Dewan Rakyat. 

But then the unthinkable happened. He was dropped from the Najib’s cabinet in July 2015 after criticising the way state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd was being run.

A year later, the Umno deputy president was sacked from the party he joined in 1971.

But instead of taking it easy, Muhyiddin jumped back into the saddle, against the advice of family and friends.

“I had wanted to retire. I still remember when I was on good terms with Najib. He was beside me in Dewan Rakyat during the swearing-in ceremony after the 2013 elections and I told him this was going to be my last term.

“And he looked at me and said ‘I thought we were going to be together to celebrate 2020’.

“I said if I continue to the end of the term, I will be 71, so I think enough is enough,” the Bersatu president told The Malaysian Insight yesterday.

But the Umno stalwart could not let things be.

“Because of what (1MDB) has happened, I have to ask the same question. Can I leave? I cannot. I will have to do something for this nation. 

“If I don’t do it, then can someone else do it? Yes, Anwar (Ibrahim) can do it but I want to be part of this and that is why I said it is ok, I am prepared to continue.

“I may not be as young or strong as before but I am prepared to do what I have to do,” said Muhyiddin.

But despite his almost five decades in politics, the former deputy prime minister said he was surprised that Malaysians seemed to be apathetic towards the problems plaguing the nation.

“I am amazed by the state of inertia (people are facing problems but they are not willing to come up and say or do something). I don’t want to compare it with other countries in the region, you know what sort of countries they are, but here, it is a state of inertia.

“When you talk to them, they will tell you the problem, but they are not willing to come forward,” he added.

Excerpts from the interview:

TMI: People say one of your previous statements “I’m Malay first, Malaysian second” was racist in nature. What is your comment?

Muhyiddin: During my time as a minister and menteri besar (Johor), were there any instances where my actions and deeds were discriminatory?

What I said then was a statement of fact. You are a Malay and you are a Chinese and that is all. As Malaysians, what is important are deeds, not words.

I have never done anything which is racist in nature. Are there any Chinese who would say I did not help them but only helped the Malays? 

People must evaluate me based on my actions and not my words. My son-in-law is Chinese and many of my friends are Chinese, too.

As a Malaysian and a leader, we must act fairly, be considerate and understand the different interests of the various races.

This is something I have done since my involvement in politics. I think we should put that incident to rest.

TMI: Bersatu is one of many Malay-majority parties. Is it able to represent the Malays the same way Umno has?

Muhyiddin: I believe we can, but it takes time. Umno now cannot claim to have monopoly of the Malay support or the only party that can defend the rights of the Malay community or the only party that can defend Islam as a religion for the Malays.

That is false, and I think it is also wrong to make such a claim.

Bersatu is not racist, as it will fight for all Malaysians. We have proven that in many of our statements and the things we do.

The reason is more than just tactical. All this while, the opposition could not win because they could not penetrate into the Malay heartland, which is controlled by Umno.

Why didn’t PKR win the last elections or why can’t PAS penetrate although it won in Kelantan and Terengannu? It is because of the same factor.

All these seats that belong to Umno is where the Malays are the majority. The reason we formed this party is because we need to penetrate and break that so-called monopoly.

TMI: At your age and experience, you did not have to do this, what was the motivation that made you start a new party?

Muhyiddin: I wanted to retire earlier. I still remember when I was on good terms with Najib. He was beside me in Dewan Rakyat during the swearing-in ceremony after the 2013 elections and I told him this was going to be my last term.

And he looked at me and said, “I thought we were going to be together to celebrate 2020”.

That was four years ago. I said if I continue to the end of the term, I will be 71, so I think enough is enough.

I don’t know how much I have done for the nation but I have served for many, many years. And it is left for the people to evaluate my contributions.

But this thing happened… my family said it was time to retire. My friends said I can play golf, makan angin and do anything I want like sit down at a coffee shop and complain for hours.

I wish I could have done that, those are the things that you have missed for so long.

Then things happened… not because I was removed, but because of the things which have happened to the country.

And I never imagined that I will be so close to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. We meet practically every day to discuss what is happening to the country.

This is something I must do in the last part of my career. It has to be now. Because of what has happened I have to ask the same question. Can I leave? I cannot. I will have to do something for this nation. 

Will I succeed? I am not too sure. I hope so, but that is the only thing that you have. It is not going to be easy, as I am spending a lot more time now when I should be spending it with my grandchildren. But I don’t have much of a choice.

If I don’t do it, then can somebody else do it? Yes, Anwar (Ibrahim) can do it but I want to be part of this and that is why I said it is ok, I am prepared to continue. I may not be as young or strong as before but I am prepared to do what I have to do.

This is the challenge in a lifetime. You may succeed or you may not. I leave it to God to decide. 

If you want to form a company, you have to calculate the cost and benefit and the profit and loss. But when I formed this party I never calculated how much I needed to move this party. I just wish that some people will just come into this party.

I think that is important as a person, the will to drive on. It is okay, if I were to die tomorrow like what Tun says, at least I can say I have tried.

I don’t think I am stupid. And nobody has told me that I am stupid for doing this. Maybe those guys are stupid to say why are you spending so much time and energy in all this.

TMI: Was there a particular moment which made you decide to form Bersatu?

Muhyiddin: I am a thinking person. It is not a process. It is fast. People who have been with me know how fast I move.

Even though I don’t say anything, it is still working in my mind. This effort is a real struggle. You got to go and do it. I can’t ask Tun to come and run this office and set up the branches in the country. I am here to build up the infrastructure, the political support and whatnot.

I do it this way even though I don’t have the full support, but it is okay as people will slowly understand.

Nowadays, the Chinese are telling me they will support me. So maybe I am not doing the wrong thing. It is not a snap decision or sheer coincidence. This is a serious business. This is the politics of trying to save the country.

You must think about it for it to happen. That is why I told Tun, we cannot be fighting like this, before Bersatu was formed. We needed a platform and a party. And now we have a party.

TMI: How sure are you that the Malay vote will change?

Muhyiddin: From my observations and Bersatu’s empirical studies (surveys), we have noticed a positive trend among the voters in general, including Malays in Felda areas.

Non-BN parties used to have difficulties penetrating the Felda areas but we have opened branches in some of the Felda areas.

The Malays are still among segments of society who face cost-of-living issues because they are among the biggest group who earn low wages and are poor. The Malays today have reached a stage where they can no longer bear the rising costs of living.

As such, we believe together with the non-Malays, the Malays will also reject BN.

TMI: How significant is the change?

Muhyiddin: In 2013, BN only had 48% of the popular vote while 52% of the popular vote went to the opposition, but that didn’t trigger a change in government.

How do you compare 2013 and 2017? Better or worse? I have heard a lot of people say now is better but based on the scenario and the studies that we did, things are getting worse.

So, if things are getting worse then basically the 48% of popular vote that BN had in 2013 cannot be sustained. And you go by state and constituency, we see the shift already happening.

Johor used to be a strong BN state. They called it the blue state but now I say the blue has turned to blur.

While Johoreans have been long supporters of Umno, they have now shifted because of the problems and issues.

They are well exposed and well educated and experienced and they see what is happening today, and I don’t think they endorse what the government is doing. – September 8, 2017.