KUALA LUMPUR — Bersatu needs a major political and organisational revamp if it wants to remain a relevant political force after failing to win a single seat in the recent Negeri Sembilan state election, analysts said.
Political analyst Dr G Manimaran said the defeat highlighted weaknesses in Bersatu’s leadership, policy direction and grassroots strength, rather than being solely a reflection of party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s influence.
“Muhyiddin, the Bersatu is only a one-faced person,” he told Scoop, adding that other senior leaders had failed to establish strong policies or a clear political direction.
Manimaran said the party had spent too much time dealing with internal conflicts, leaving voters uncertain about its direction.
“There’s no clear direction. People see the conflict,” he said.
He said Bersatu should treat the Negeri Sembilan result as a lesson and return to the drawing board to rebuild its strategy.
“What they need to do is go back to the drawing board and put the strategy back,” he said.
Manimaran also said Bersatu needed a new face and stronger leadership at both national and state levels to reconnect with voters, particularly younger voters.
“New leadership, new face to face the people, especially when we have 54% of young voters. New leadership, new policy, new directions, new effective narrative and communication,” he said.
He said the party would have to completely revamp its strategy and leadership to regain public confidence.
“Total revamp to appeal to the current voters and also to gain confidence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya political analyst Datuk Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Bersatu’s defeat reflected both a decline in Muhyiddin’s influence and deeper structural weaknesses within the party.
He said the party’s previous strength had relied heavily on coalition branding, PAS machinery and prominent political personalities who were no longer with Bersatu.
“The result therefore indicates both a decline in Muhyiddin’s influence and a deeper structural weakness. Bersatu’s previous strength depended substantially on PAS machinery, coalition branding and prominent political personalities who are no longer with the party,” he said.
Awang Azman said Bersatu would struggle to contest widely on its own unless it rebuilt its grassroots machinery, recruited credible local candidates and developed a clearer political identity.
He said the party needed leadership renewal, stronger branches and a political agenda that could distinguish it from both Umno and PAS.
“The central lesson from Negeri Sembilan is that political personalities and national branding cannot substitute for grassroots organisation,” he said.
Political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali, however, said Bersatu’s defeat should not be interpreted as the end of Muhyiddin’s political influence, pointing instead to the party’s internal split and strained relationship with PAS.
“Bersatu’s defeat in NS is not an indication that Muhyiddin has lost support and influence. He needs some time to revive the party and I believe Bersatu can bounce back,” he said.
Mazlan said Bersatu’s machinery and support base remained smaller than PAS, but the party could recover if it was given time to restructure and rebuild its organisation.
“The party needs time to restructure its organisation, strengthen the people’s confidence and mobilise its machinery to gain more support,” he said.
On future political cooperation, Mazlan said Bersatu would find it difficult to challenge its rivals alone and could benefit from working with a larger coalition.
“Working with PH could give Bersatu an advantage in capturing Malay votes and also winning over non-Malay votes as happened in the 2018 general election,” he said.
While the analysts differed on the extent of Muhyiddin’s declining influence and Bersatu’s prospects, they agreed that the party cannot rely on its past strength to recover.
For Bersatu, the immediate challenge is to rebuild its leadership, grassroots network and political identity before the next general election.
Bersatu contested 24 of the 36 seats in the recent Negeri Sembilan state election but won none, including the Labu state seat that it had won in the 15th general election. — August 11, 2026