KOTA KINABALU – Pejuang today said it is prepared to listen to the opposition’s pitch for their “big tent” concept to face the coming general election.
Party president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said they want to see how a small party like Pejuang can play a role in the proposed electoral cooperation.
“We need to hear what the big tent concept they are talking about is. We are only a small party, only four MPs and not even a year old. We need to know what role a small party can play,” Mukhriz told reporters here.
“We want to know what kind of cooperation it would be like. Will it be like post GE14 Pakatan Harapan government, where no matter how many seats a party wins, the roles such as cabinet ministers’ division would still be shared equally?
“Or will this approach see only certain parties dominate this big tent?” he said.
Mukhriz, who was in Sabah as part of his national tour to promote his party, said they will field candidates for the national polls, including for federal seats in the east Malaysian state.
Pejuang has already opened divisions in 16 of Sabah’s 25 parliamentary constituencies and expects to officially launch its state chapter within a month, the former Kedah menteri besar said.
Mukhriz said Pejuang has learned from its failures in the recent series of state elections where it went in on its own and is in the process of crafting new strategies to face the coming election, which must be held by May next year.
He said Pejuang is open to forming pacts with other parties, although there have yet to be any official talks with any potential partners.
Mukhriz did not discount a possible partnership with parties like Warisan, which he said has “very close” ties with Pejuang.
“So far, all the talks I had at this stage have not reached the negotiation stage. But I am optimistic. Although there are differences in ideals with others, we all have something in common – We all want a change in the national political scenario,” he said.
“We don’t want a return of the regime before GE14 in 2018,” said Mukhriz, referring to the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. – The Vibes, April 26, 2022
