Pejuang has submitted an application to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) as a component party.
Its president Mukhriz Mahathir (above) said a letter was sent to PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.
In a statement, Mukhriz added that the decision was reached two days ago by the party’s central executive council after reviewing and evaluating all available options for political cooperation.
He said the council decided that an electoral pact was not a viable solution for the sole purpose of avoiding clashes in contested seats, especially if both parties use different logos.
“It would be more beneficial for Pejuang to join PN and contest using PN’s logo. This would also mean that Pejuang and PN’s cooperation would not be limited to the state elections in June 2023, but for the long term.
“Pejuang’s participation as a PN component would be to ensure there is no split in Malay votes in the upcoming elections.
“It is hoped that PN’s leadership will consider Pejuang’s application and provide a positive response,” he said.
Pejuang was founded by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2020 after he was sacked from Bersatu following the Sheraton Move political coup.
He initially helmed the party as its chairperson but left on Feb 10, claiming that Pejuang, now headed by his son Mukhriz, had strayed from its original fight by leaving Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) on Jan 14.
He later joined Putra on Feb 25 as its adviser.
GTA, a Malay rights coalition now only consisting of Berjasa, Putra and Iman, was founded in August last year amid speculations that the 15th general election was going to be held soon.
In GE15, all candidates under GTA component parties - including Pejuang - lost their deposits.
Pejuang fielded 67 out of GTA’s 168 candidates, including Mahathir and Mukhriz.
Mukhriz had then blamed the people's alleged unfamiliarity with Pejuang's logo in the state elections. Pejuang had used GTA's logo in GE15.
It was also the second time Pejuang had lost all its deposits since debuting in the Johor state election in March 2022. At the time, they fielded 42 candidates.
Meanwhile, in response to claims that Mukhriz had allegedly requested PN to allocate the party several seats to contest in the state polls, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said the former Kedah menteri besar was “stuck in a desperate situation.”
Mahathir, on the other hand, was quoted yesterday saying that Pejuang was welcomed to work with Putra to fight for the rights of - Malays. - Mkini
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