On Nov 16 last year, MCA's Wee Jeck Seng had crushed Bersatu's Karmaine Sardini in the Tanjung Piai by-election with a majority of more than 15,000 votes with the Pakatan Harapan candidate losing in all the 128 voting channels except one.

Support for Pakatan Harapan had eroded among both the Malay and Chinese voters. This set off alarm bells, especially in Bersatu.

A month earlier, an independent survey revealed that Harapan's approval rating had slumped to a low of 35 percent, which then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed as inaccurate.

Sources told Malaysiakini that what transpired in Tanjung Piai was the last straw for some in Bersatu, including its president Muhyiddin Yassin...