DR Mahathir Mohamad has exited Pejuang, the second party he has formed – this nearly three years ago – as a platform to champion Malay rights and his vision for Malaysia.

The veteran politician is no stranger to leaving – or being thrown out of – a party to make his point.

He was once sacked from Umno, then made a comeback and became president. He also quit the party twice in 2008 and 2016.

Mahathir established Bersatu and fought Umno in the 2018 general election, won the battle under PH but later fell out of favour with other Bersatu leaders when he was expelled.

Undeterred, Dr Mahathir formed Pejuang in August 2020. However, following his spat with Pejuang, his career appears to have ended.

Pejuang was roundly thrashed at the polls in November, with none of its parliamentary candidates – including Dr Mahathir – keeping their deposits.

Recently, Pejuang decided to break from the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition and chart its own path.

Dr Mahathir and his followers decided GTA was the better platform for them, so they quit the party yesterday.

This is the latest chapter in a controversial and tumultuous political career spanning nearly 70 years.

UMNO

Dr Mahathir joined Umno in the 1950s, but had already been active in politics, protesting granting citizenship to non-Malays under the Malayan Union.

By the time of the first general election in 1959, he had risen to Kedah Umno chairman but he was not on the candidate list for parliament.

In his early years with Umno, Dr Mahathir was already at loggerheads with party leaders, such as Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Tunku, also a native of Kedah, was heavily criticised by Dr Mahathir for retaining British and commonwealth forces in Malaya after independence.

However, Dr Mahathir’s strained relationship with Tunku did nothing to stop him from excelling in politics.

In 1964, he became Kota Setar MP but lost to Yusof Rawa from PAS five years later, the same year as the race riots.

Dr Mahathir used this to demand Tunku’s resignation from Umno for failing to uphold Malay interests.

Dr Mahathir was expelled from the party at the end of the year but eventually Tunku resigned.

He was replaced by Abdul Razak Hussein, who later brought Dr Mahathir back to the fold.

Return to Umno

Under Razak’s leadership, Dr Mahathir did not take long re-establish himself and became education minister in 1974.

Then, when Hussein Onn replaced Razak as prime minister, appointed Dr Mahathir his deputy.

Due to Hussein’s poor health, Dr Mahathir took on the top job in July 1981, becoming the country’s fourth prime minister at the age of 56.

Fast forward 22 years, when Dr Mahathir announced his resignation at the Umno general assembly in 2003. He named Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as his successor.

However, after initial successes Abdullah began to struggle, resulting in a major shift away from Barisan Nasional and Umno in the 2008 general election.

Dr Mahathir quit the party in protest of Abdullah’s leadership, only re-joining when Najib Razak took over the party presidency.

However, Dr Mahathir would later become a staunch critic of Najib as the 1MDB scandal unfolded.

Bersatu

In 2016, Dr Mahathir quit Umno in apparent disgust of Najib’s denial and attempt to whitewash 1MDB, forming Bersatu together with disgruntled Umno leaders and becoming chairman.

Bersatu later joined the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and secured its nomination as prime minister should the coalition win the 2018 general election, with Anwar Ibrahim still languishing in prison.

Dr Mahathir was sworn in as the seventh prime minister, 15 years after stepping down.

Pejuang

However, beset by infighting from the start, the PH administration lasted only 22 months. Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had urged Dr Mahathir to take the party out of PH and form a government of its own with PAS and Umno, in what became known as the Sheraton Move.

The nonagenarian refused and resigned.

Having formed a new government, Bersatu, under the leadership of Muhyiddin, eventually sacked Mahathir and his loyalists from the party.

Unbroken, Dr Mahathir formed another Malay nationalist party, Pejuang, with several loyalists including his son Mukhriz in August 2021.

However, Pejuang did not have the same voter appeal as Bersatu, due in part because it refused to join PH.

Instead, Dr Mahathir formed GTA, a right-wing Malay coalition with Putra, Berjasa and Iman.

However, after the November election defeat, Mukhriz announced that the party would leave GTA to focus on rebuilding.

Quitting Pejuang

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir, who formed Pejuang less than two years ago, decided to leave the party together with 12 followers and concentrate on GTA.

“The decision by Pejuang to cut ties with GTA automatically removes us from the party, as we are continuing our struggle under the GTA platform,” Dr Mahathir said. – February 12, 2023.