Muhyiddin Yassin became deputy prime minister because of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the same man whom Muhyiddin had called to step down as prime minister, political veteran Musa Hitam reveals.

In his book 'Frankly Speaking', Musa said Muhyiddin's ascension to the number two spot was one of Abdullah's conditions before he handed over the prime ministership to Najib Abdul Razak.

"When Abdullah was thinking of resigning as prime minister, I became the intermediary between him and Najib during the discussions concerning the transfer of power.

"Abdullah had a few conditions, the main one being that Muhyiddin Yassin be named as deputy prime minister.

"Najib agreed immediately, a point which the new prime minister must now be regretting," Musa wrote.

Najib and Muhyiddin led the country from 2009 till 2015. Then, last year, Najib axed Muhyiddin in a cabinet reshuffle, because of his then deputy’s criticism of 1MDB.

Muhyiddin has since been sacked from Umno as well, and is now teaming up with Dr Mahathir Mohamad to form Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to fight against Najib and the BN in the next general election.

Prior to his sacking, Muhyiddin had repeatedly questioned why Umno was taking action against him for fighting Najib, but did nothing when he moved against Abdullah.

Abdullah stepped down in 2009 following pressure from Umno for BN's poor showing in the 2008 general election, in which the opposition denied the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Meanwhile, Musa posits that for Muhyiddin, being sacked from Umno was probably the best thing that can happen to him.

"From his perspective this might be the best thing that has happened to his political career.

"This means he has been freed from being restrained by his position in Umno and now has the option to plan his own course."

Musa said that if Muhyiddin handles the challenges well, he might even become the best person to lead the opposition.