Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, a party founded by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, has applied to join the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said he sent a letter to PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday. A similar letter was also sent to the heads of PN’s component parties, Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Gerakan.
Datuk Seri Mukhriz said the decision to join PN was made two days ago, following the party’s central executive council (CEC) meeting after reviewing all options for political cooperation.
“Pejuang’s entry as a component party of PN is to ensure there is no split in Malay votes in the upcoming (state) elections,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Elections in six states are expected to be held by August.
Mr Mukhriz said the CEC also decided that an electoral pact was not a viable option if it is solely to avoid clashes in contested seats, especially if both parties use different logos.
“It is more beneficial to all parties if Pejuang joins PN and contests using PN logo. This will mean Pejuang cooperation is not limited to the upcoming state elections but also for the long term,” he added.
Mr Mukhriz expressed hopes that the leadership of PN will consider Pejuang’s request and give a positive response.
Mr Mukhriz’s father, Tun Dr Mahathir, founded Pejuang in 2020, and later founded Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) along with several other Malay-Muslim parties in August 2022, ahead of the 15th General Election that took place last November.
GTA is a coalition of Malay-Muslim parties and non-governmental organisations that Pejuang was a part of.
After the Pejuang-led GTA returned empty-handed from the national polls with all their candidates – including Dr Mahathir and Mr Mukhriz – losing their deposits, Dr Mahathir quit as Pejuang chairman.
On Jan 14, Pejuang announced that it was formally leaving GTA after its members came to a consensus at the party’s annual general meeting.
This prompted Dr Mahathir to quit Pejuang, and he subsequently joined little-known party Putra on Feb 25.
He has since been appointed Pejuang’s adviser and, on Wednesday, said he may contest in the state elections.
