When the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, or Bersatu, was set up in September 2016, both Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin were on the same side – both rejecting Umno and the kleptocracy of the Najib Razak government. Last week, after one leader instructed his ally to sack the other leader and another leader claimed he would sack the first leader, the escalating squabble inside the party showed the public the deep split that extends beyond the two men.