PETALING JAYA: Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (pix) has announced his party’s application to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) as a component party.
According to a report by FMT, Mukhriz said the party’s central executive council had decided to join the coalition helmed by former premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He mentioned that the council determined that Pejuang forming an electoral pact with other parties or coalitions to avoid the issue of seat clashes was not enough.
“It would be more beneficial for all parties involved if Pejuang joins PN and contests under the PN logo.
“This also means that Pejuang’s partnership with PN would be for the long-term rather than only for the state elections, which are expected to be held in the middle of the year,” he said in a statement.
The former Kedah Mentri Besar added that his party joining forces with PN would prevent a divide in Malay votes during the state elections.
“We hope the PN leadership will consider Pejuang’s application and give a positive response,” he added.
The party’s decision came in a day after former Pejuang president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad joined Putra, led by Datuk Ibrahim Ali, as a member and adviser.
Earlier, Mahathir and 12 other Pejuang leaders left the party that was founded in 2020, after their withdrawal from the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition.
In the past month, Mukriz had been holding meetings with other component parties, namely from Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PN.
Meanwhile, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said Mukhriz had also met up with PAS’ top leadership, involving president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, his deputy and the three vice-presidents but details of the meeting were not elaborated.
Kedah PH chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar also verified the Pejuang president meeting with him to discuss a “partnership” for the Kedah state elections. Mahfuz said the PH presidential council would make the final decision.