Bersatu's leadership has given a mandate for its president Muhyiddin Yassin to conduct talks with other parties to form a "jajaran baru" (new alignment) ahead of the next general election.
According to Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan, this decision was necessary for Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional (PN) to form a pact that could defeat BN.
Moreover, he said both PN and Pakatan Harapan were aware that if they did not unite, BN would stand to benefit.
"Although there is nothing concrete yet, all parties in PN and Harapan are open to discussions on forming a new political alignment ahead of GE15.
"For Bersatu and PN, we rarely issue statements on this because there is no final decision (yet)... However, Harapan chairperson and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim have revealed that such discussions are taking place.
"Let us wait and see what the results are," Wan Saiful told Sinar Harian.
In recent weeks, Muhyiddin held discussions with Anwar, Pejuang chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal over a possible pact.
These discussions were being held even as Bersatu was currently supporting Ismail Sabri Yaakob as prime minister, although the latter was from BN.
Muhyiddin had since clarified that he had embarked on meetings with leaders of non-BN parties because the results of the Johor and Malacca election showed that BN only won those two elections due to the opposition vote being split.
He said the majority had voted against BN in those two elections because they were against kleptocratic leaders.
Meanwhile, Wan Saiful said Bersatu had not discussed the proposed reimplementation of the goods and services tax (GST) with Ismail Sabri.
"However, I believe that any (new) taxes, including the GST, should not burden the rakyat as they are already facing inflationary pressures. Some are already equating 'BN' with 'barang naik' (price increases).
"To me, it is currently not suitable for the government to be discussing new taxes or restoring the GST.
"The situation is made worse by some government leaders and cabinet ministers wearing watches, shoes and clothes that cost tens of thousands of ringgit.
"Yet, they are claiming the government has no money and needs new taxes," he said.
Recently, Ismail Sabri was panned by netizens for sporting a Burberry shirt that retails for RM5,000 during his visit to Japan. - Mkini
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