Bersatu’s broken but I won’t return to Umno, says Rais

2026-03-27 - 05:40

Political veteran Rais Yatim said he has no plans to return as a member of Umno, which recently launched an initiative to welcome those who left the party previously. PETALING JAYA: Political veteran Rais Yatim has rejected the possibility of returning to Umno despite his current party, Bersatu, being in a state of disarray. The former Senate president said Umno, which he was a member of for decades until his expulsion in 2018, has lost its shine and lustre. “Umno has lost its gleam for the thinking Malays. I have no wish to return as a member,” he told FMT, rejecting the party’s “Rumah Bangsa” initiative to welcome those who had left the party previously. Rais also claimed that his sacking was invalid as it was done by then Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, rather than the party’s disciplinary board. “It was merely because I opined that Low Taek Jho should be arrested and brought back for trial in April 2018,” he said. However, Rais did not hide his dissatisfaction with Bersatu, saying the party should no longer be called Bersatu – the Malay word for united – as it did not reflect its reality. “Everything in Bersatu is broken, except for its name,” said the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar. Rais, a former six-term MP for Jelebu, had served in various ministerial portfolios at the federal level and is seen as a close ally of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He was sacked from Umno alongside veterans Rafidah Aziz and the late Daim Zainuddin in May 2018 after being critical of the party and expressing support for Pakatan Harapan during the 14th general election campaign. Rais joined Bersatu shortly after that and had served a stint as head of its Negeri Sembilan chapter. He resigned from all party posts last month following the sacking of 17 party leaders, including deputy president Hamzah Zainudin, at the height of Hamzah’s leadership tussle with party chief Muhyiddin Yassin. Rais remains a Bersatu member but has been critical of Muhyiddin, ticking off the former prime minister earlier this month over his “tug of war” with Perikatan Nasional chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.