A FRESH dispute has emerged over the origins of Perikatan Nasional (PN), with former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan rejecting assertions that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should be regarded as the coalition’s founder.
Describing the claim as a “myth” that misrepresents the historical record, Wan Saiful said the formation of PN was the result of discussions and contributions involving multiple political parties and individuals long before the coalition was formally established.
“Now that the list of leaders who attended the PN founding meeting on July 29, 2020, at Menara Parlimen has gone viral, it is very clear that the meeting was attended by 12 individuals representing PAS, Bersatu, Gerakan and MIC.
“Some may wish to claim that Muhyiddin was the person who proposed the idea of PN. Once again, that too is a myth because the original idea behind PN’s formation, as well as the origin of the name Perikatan Nasional itself, did not involve Muhyiddin at all,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Wan Saiful asserted that only three individuals were directly involved in presenting the initial proposal for the coalition to then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad through a formal letter recommending the establishment of the political alliance.
He further claimed that another individual prepared a 38-page proposal document outlining the coalition’s formation, while two others were responsible for designing the PN logo that remains in use today.
“I am deliberately not mentioning the names of these six individuals because I have not sought their permission. However, I hope they themselves will come forward and put an end to the myth that Bersatu is attempting to promote.
“If the person who signed that 38-page document could reveal its contents, that would be even better,” he added.
According to Wan Saiful, Muhyiddin’s involvement came only during the later stages of the coalition’s establishment and therefore he should not be given exclusive credit for its creation.
The debate comes amid heightened tensions within the opposition bloc following PAS’s decision earlier this week to terminate its political cooperation with Bersatu.
In the aftermath of that announcement, several senior Bersatu leaders reportedly called for Muhyiddin, whom they described as one of the coalition’s founders, to return and assume a leading role in PN.
However, PN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar recently stressed that the coalition does not belong exclusively to any single party and was built through consensus among its founding members.
The Kemaman Member of Parliament noted that PAS was among the parties involved in establishing the coalition and said he was personally one of the official signatories during the formation process.
His remarks underscore growing efforts within PN to define the coalition’s future direction and leadership, while also reigniting questions over its origins as political realignments continue to reshape Malaysia’s opposition landscape. - June 12, 2026
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