Ousting PH is priority, says Mukhriz despite qualms over BN-PN pact

 The Pejuang president admits having reservations on the pact, but says the party didn't want to rock the boat, being a new component member of PN.

Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said some grassroots members had questioned the BN-PN arrangement, but said there was no widespread dissatisfaction.

SEREMBAN:

Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said the party has reservations about Perikatan Nasional’s pact with Barisan Nasional for the Negeri Sembilan polls, but says it accepted the alliance as the priority was to oust Pakatan Harapan from the state government.

Mukhriz, who is also PN deputy chairman, said the party had “slight differences of opinion” about the pact but eventually recognised that this was the best formula to defeat PH. “We are a very new member in PN and we are not about to rock the boat so early in our membership,” he said.

He said BN realised that it needed “a little more help” to win the Negeri Sembilan state election despite its good odds at forming the government.

“The main priority is to ensure that the PH state government is defeated – soundly, if we can. We may have slight differences of opinion, but we totally agree that this combination between PN and BN will result in a new government, with PH out of government,” he told FMT.

Mukhriz said discussions on the BN-PN pact’s longer-term direction could take place after the Aug 1 polls, particularly to determine the messages to push under this new alliance.

Pejuang was founded by Mukhriz’s father, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as an offshoot of Bersatu, which itself is an Umno splinter. Mahathir quit Umno in 2016 while Mukhriz was sacked for being openly critical of then prime minister Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal.

Asked whether Pejuang viewed working with the Umno-led BN as a compromise of its principles or a matter of political necessity, Mukhriz insisted that his party remained committed to its founding ideals.

“We always say Pejuang is firm in its principles. At the same time, people talk to us about political pragmatism. We try to understand what that means. Does that mean a major compromise in principles? That would be a problem for us.

“We have a strong core support among like-minded people who believe whatever government we want to form must be a government of integrity.

“This (BN-PN) combination is still at a very early stage. There has been no substantial discussion about how the two sides will work together,” said Mukhriz, a former Kedah menteri besar.

Mukhriz added that Pejuang would seek greater clarity on the BN-PN cooperation and its direction at the next PN Supreme Council meeting.

He acknowledged that some Pejuang grassroots members had questioned the arrangement, but said there was no widespread dissatisfaction. These members were giving their views on the pact, which the leadership welcomes, he said.

“Many of them left Umno to join Bersatu and then from Bersatu to Pejuang. So the members we have now have effectively been filtered twice over. They are sticking to their principles and we totally understand that. Because of that, we have to think about this much more deeply and explain it to them as best as we can.

“I believe there are also voters in Negeri Sembilan who want to know (the direction of the BN-PN alliance). I hope to come up with some kind of statement regarding this in the next few days.”

Pejuang and Parti Wawasan Negara, led by opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, were admitted into PN on June 22.

BN is contesting 25 seats in the Negeri Sembilan polls while PN vies for 11 other seats. Pejuang decided to sit out the election after losing the only seat it contested in the July 11 Johor polls.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang previously expressed hope that the cooperation will endure, adding that it was aimed at “saving the country” and was not merely formed as an act of political theatre. - FMT