GEORGE TOWN – Talking to Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad about the coming 15th general election (GE15) does not amount to cooperation for the polls, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The PKR president said he was “open” to holding talks with his former Pakatan Harapan (PH) ally, whose current party is not part of PH.
“It (talking to him) does not mean we are cooperating with him. If we discuss how to eradicate corruption and the system which underpins it, I am of course keen.
“We are not just rejecting (former prime minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) or (former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi), we must reject (the entire) system based on corruption,” Anwar told reporters here last night after a PKR fundraising dinner.
He was asked to respond to Dr Mahathir, who said in a recent video that he was able to work with Anwar in 2018 by putting aside ego and personal feelings for the larger goal of ridding the country of corrupt politicians.
Anwar two days ago also said he was open to discussion if Dr Mahathir was to request it.
Despite a tempestuous relationship over the past decades, both leaders collaborated under PH in GE14 to oust Barisan Nasional, which had ruled Malaysia for six decades.
Dr Mahathir left PH following the Sheraton Move and the toppling of the PH government in February 2020 to form new party Pejuang. To face GE15, he has formed a new coalition, Gerakan Tanah Air, comprising Pejuang and smaller Malay parties.
Anwar, currently the incumbent Port Dickson MP, will contest GE15 in Tambun, Perak, while Dr Mahathir will defend the Langkawi seat. – The Vibes, October 23, 2022
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