Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been a member of the ruling coalition for decades, with 22 years at the helm as president of Umno and chairperson of BN.

Now, with the 14th general election around the corner, the 91-year-old former premier is on the other side of the political fence, joining hands with former political rivals.

According to Mahathir, the secret to BN and its predecessor the Alliance's unbeaten winning streak since the first general election in 1959, is that the ruling coalition's component parties are united.

Whereas, he said the situation in the opposition is the opposite.

Mahathir, who is now chairperson of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), said opposition parties contested against BN in all the previous polls under their respective symbols.

Therefore, the former premier stressed on the importance of a united front in the next election.

“I believe if we have a pact, a strong coalition, we can fight BN with the hope of winning.

“This is not easy, they (the opposition) are not keen on accepting me as a leader because I am from a ruling party which often put them (opposition politicians) in detention.

“The peculiar thing is that when I talked about the Citizens' Declaration, they (opposition) showed interest to cooperate. I appreciate this... After I made a U-turn, I am with them (opposition),” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

Mahathir was speaking at an event at Felda Jelai in Gemas, Negri Sembilan last night.

The former premier expressed hope that all opposition parties would set aside their differences because none of them could conquer BN on their own.

“Only when they come together in a coalition and act together with one aim can they achieve success. This is the secret of the Alliance (BN's predecessor), which is now followed by BN.

“The secret is they have 13 parties (in BN), but there is no fissures among them in the effort to win the election. Therefore, we must forget our past problems and focus on toppling BN,” he added.

Yesterday, Mahathir announced that Bersatu intends to join Pakatan Harapan, which consists of PKR, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

However, he also said there is a need to change the coalition's name, create a new logo and symbol for the election, and prepare a manifesto.

His remarks led a portal aligned to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to accuse him of attempting to hijack Pakatan Harapan.