Dr M mum after morning of political intrigue

Bersatu leaders met for approximately four hours today and were unusually coy after the meeting ended.

This comes after several political factions convened for separate meetings in Kuala Lumpur, including PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's supporters and Gabungan Parti Sarawak leaders.

Party chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad (photo) merely waved at reporters as he departed from the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya instead of holding his usual press conference.

President Muhyiddin Yassin and Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman refused to comment as did secretary-general Marzuki Yahya.

Supreme council member Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen said the meeting was nothing special.

"Normal matters, (we talked about) the direction of the party," he said.

Vice-president Mukhriz Mahathir said the meeting "discussed normal things" and excused himself because he had to attend a wedding.

Normally, Mahathir or Muhyiddin (below) will convene a press conference after the supreme council meeting.

It is widely speculated that one topic which was brought up during the meeting was the possibility of cooperating with Umno and PAS.

Sources from Umno are telling reporters that their leaders are on "standby", pending the outcome of the Bersatu meeting.

Umno and PAS' leadership were scheduled to hold a retreat in Janda Baik, Pahang over the weekend.

As of 3pm today, several members of Umno's top leadership were spotted at the party's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, where they are expected to hold another meeting.

Talk of a new political alignment has dominated headlines over the past week, culminating in a meeting by Pakatan Harapan's top brass on Friday.

That meeting decided that there would be no timeline for Mahathir to step down as prime minister. - Mkini