PERHAPS it was Prime Minister Najib Razak’s home state. Or it could have been the indignity of being sacked.

Or maybe it was because it was the second anniversary on the day Najib told Muhyiddin Yassin that he had been dropped from the cabinet.

Whatever the reason, Muhyiddin was firing on all cylinders during the Jelajah Semarak 3M (Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin, Mukhriz Mahathir) ceramah in Mentakab, Temerloh, last night.

Standing under a makeshift tent in front of a row of shophouses facing the main road leading to Temerloh town, Muhyiddin made sure all doubts or questions on whether he would return to Umno were laid to rest.

“There are people who ask if I will return to Umno or Barisan Nasional if Najib Razak quits tomorrow.

“No way I will go back to Umno. Umno is finished. It is gone.

“We will stand with our partners in Pakatan Harapan and we will never go back to Umno, which is the most corrupt party in the world,” the Bersatu president bellowed to a packed audience of 1,500.

Speaking on the sixth leg of the Jelajah Semarak, the former deputy prime minister teased the crowd by offering them a prize if they could remember what July 28, 2015 signified.

“This day, two years ago, I was told by Najib that I would be dropped from the cabinet. He even offered me the Penang governorship and chairmanship of Pemodalan Nasional Bhd,” said Muhyiddin.

Earlier in the day, Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir said in a video posted on Facebook that he would never return to Umno even if its president, Najib, is ousted because the party has “badly broken down”.

Speaking for more than an hour, Muhyiddin held the crowd’s attention, explaining the state of the country, about how he raised the 1Malaysia Development Bhd issue in Najib’s cabinet and the circumstances surrounding his sacking.

The nationwide Jelajah Semarak 3M tour began on April 14 in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, drawing a crowd of almost 15,000 before making its way to Johor, Kedah, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

No Dr Mahathir

Earlier, Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz said Umno was damaged because of one person. The former Kedah menteri besar likened Umno to a pot of milk that was spoilt because of a single drop of blue dye.

“Umno had done a lot of good in the past but because of Najib, the whole Umno is spoilt now,” said Mukhriz.

He also sought to allay concerns that PH did not have capable leaders to lead the nation if they won in the next general election.

Running through a list of Dr Mahathir’s projects, such as Putrajaya, KLIA and Petronas, Mukhriz said there was no shortage of capable leaders in the opposition.

“Dr Mahathir was even named Malaysia’s architect in Time magazine. But the current leaders are only well known for 1MDB,” said Mukhriz, who was also removed during the Najib administration.

Before that, he apologised to the crowd for his father, Dr Mahathir, who could not turn up as he had a cough and had been advised to stay in the capital for a week.

Despite Dr Mahathir’s absence, the crowd was undeterred and stayed on for the three-hour long ceramah.

Retired civil servant Roslan Mohd Kari, 58, said Dr Mahathir’s absence was not an issue for him.

“I came here to listen to Muhyiddin and Mukhriz talk about current issues. People like me already know about the 1MDB issue. So, it doesn’t matter if Dr Mahathir is here or not.”

The former Barisan Nasional voter said the high cost of living and the corruption bothered him enough to make the trip from Semantan.

PH supporter Abdul Rahman, 68, said PH was on good ground even if there was no Dr Mahathir because it had other leaders like Anwar Ibrahim and Mohamad Sabu and the issues were too overwhelming.

“Although I’m from Pekan, I dare say that the current Umno leaders cannot be trusted any more. They are only interested in 3Ps – pangkat (title), poket (pocket) and perut (stomach),” said the Felda settler.

PAS supporter Nordin Mohd, 41, said he would back the opposition, too.

When asked if that meant PAS or PH, he said the latter, as he had also grown weary of the Islamist party.

“They are not with the main opposition pact any more. And if we want to change the federal government and right the wrongs, we need to back the side that can win. PAS cannot win alone although it’s still in the opposition,” said Nordin, who has a 4ha rubber plantation in Sementa.

The name “Temerloh” supposedly came about after a group of Minangkabau settlers arrived and noticed that an Orang Asli who “mereluh” all day long without a care in the world. Mereluh in the Pahang dialect means sleep or snore.

Another version of how the name Temerloh came about was that the area was also the sleeping place for Orang Asli. As tempat mereluh was too tricky to pronounce, the Minangkabau shortened it to Temerloh.

But whichever version, Temerloh was awakened from its nap last night, by the two Ms – Muhyiddin and Mukhriz. – July 29, 2017.