KUALA LUMPUR – Pejuang’s decision not to work with Pakatan Harapan (PH) ahead of the next election is because the party sees the opposition coalition as a political baggage, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The party chairman – who once led PH to victory in May 2018 and was later appointed as prime minister – said he was aware of the dissatisfaction towards PH and would not allow this to drag his new party down.
He reiterated Pejuang’s stand that it will serve as a third political force in the country that champions the fight against corruption.
“We want to be free so the people will see us as a party that fights corruption. We want the people to support us for our stand,” he said in a virtual press conference after chairing its weekly meeting today.
“But when you are linked to other parties, their baggage and past will affect us. There are some who are not very happy with DAP, and similarly with Amanah and PKR. We don’t want to be affected by their past performances.”
Instead, he said Pejuang – which has yet to be registered with the Registrar of Societies (RoS) – will only make election arrangements with certain parties that share their goals.
This, he said, will be done closer to the general election once a date is announced.
When pressed which parties he was referring to, Dr Mahathir said: “There is evidence there are other parties with the same objectives as us, namely fighting against corruption.”
“They are not from PH or Perikatan Nasional (PN). There’s one party from Sabah called Warisan, which at this moment has not aligned itself with any party. And there’s another party which is also not registered yet, Muda.”
“They have the same stand as us, but for now, we have not made any decision whether to work with them or other parties. We want to build on our strength first”.
This is the first time Dr Mahathir has given any indication of whom Pejuang might be cooperating with ahead of the polls.
Warisan is led by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal while Muda is fronted by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, two political figures known to be strong allies with the ex-prime minister.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir had said that even if Pejuang is not given the nod by RoS in time for the election, the party already has in place back-up plans.
We can’t tell you yet, we have our ways. But the bigger question is why aren’t we registered yet? This is against the law.
“This is what you call abuse of power,” he said in reference to political interference by PN.
Regardless, he said Pejuang will offer to the rakyat who object to the practice of graft an option to vote for a party that shares the same stand, and that its intention is clear – to clean the country from corruption. – The Vibes, June 3, 2021
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