THREE years after their acrimonious break-up due to the Sheraton Move, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin met last night to discuss the former’s Malay Proclamation movement.

Malay Proclamation secretariat chairman Khairuddin Abu Hassan said the meeting between the two former prime ministers gives new hope to the Malay community. 

“The meeting between the two Malay leaders, which lasted almost two hours last night, will give new impetus to the Malay Proclamation movement to continue to drive the agenda to empower and strengthen the position of our Malay people in our homeland.

“This highly meaningful meeting is a manifestation of total Malay unification that Dr Mahathir is working towards in order to fulfill the hopes and dreams of all Malay people,” he said in a statement.

Khairuddin said the meeting between the duo, who were willing to put aside past political differences to ensure the continued struggle to empower Malays, should be praised.

The Malay Proclamation, a Dr Mahathir initiative, was founded with the aim of uniting the community. Its manifesto lists 12 key problems said to be faced by Malays.

Last week, Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, said he was ready to meet with Dr Mahathir to discuss the Malay Proclamation.

Khairuddin said the non-partisan proclamation movement, which received “extraordinary” response from Malays across the nation, wishes to unite all Malays regardless of their political ideologies.

“The Malay Proclamation is not based on party affiliation but on the basis of Malay struggle and Malay spirit alone.

“Hence, the Malay Proclamation secretariat will develop an effort to unify the Malay community and then identify polemics and introduce solutions to all problems that have plagued us all this time,” he said.

Khairuddin said the movement only wants to talk about the Malay problem and solve it based on the ‘rights’ of the Malay people as enshrined in the federal constitution.

“The efforts of the Malay Proclamation will not allow our people to take the rights of other races in this country unconstitutionally.

“The rights of other races in our country are strongly respected because the goal of the Malay Proclamation is to create a country based on love, peace and unity with order and harmony among different races,” he said.

Previously, several Bersatu leaders and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang signed the Malay Proclamation, saying they did it in a personal capacity. 

The Sheraton Move in February 2020 saw Muhyiddin becoming prime minister after the fall of Dr Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan government. 

In the ensuing fallout, Dr Mahathir left Bersatu, a party he had helped found. – July 5, 2023.