Bersatu agrees to join Harapan but wants name change

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will be making a formal request to join Pakatan Harapan but it wants to change the coalition's name.

"We will state our wish to join them (Pakatan Harapan) with the intention of maybe making the name more suitable.

"We agreed on the principles that we need, other than a new name, we also want to have a (new) logo and symbol for the election, as well as a manifesto," Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in a press conference at the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.

He said Pakatan is already aware of the party's intention of joining the coalition, so he hopes they can formally do so shortly.

They have yet to discuss about seat allocations with Harapan, he said.

"We haven't joined the coalition yet, how  can we talk about seat allocation?" Mahathir asked.

However, he said, Bersatu agrees with the principle of only fielding one candidate for every seat to ensure straight fights against BN in the coming general election.

Mahathir said he is confident that Harapan will support this suggestion.

"Because they know their loss last time was because they weren't united enough," he said.

In December last year, Bersatu and Harapan had signed an electoral pact and agreed to form an opposition coalition together before the next election.

This was to facilitate the formation of a new government if they were to win the 14th general election.- Mkini