PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is seeking a meeting with his predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in a bid to unite the party, says a leader of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on Sunday (March 8).
Dr Mahathir and Tan Sri Muhyiddin founded Bersatu in 2016 after splitting from Umno, and helped the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition win federal power in the May 2018 general election.
But the duo split on bitter terms in the political tumult that started at the end of last month, with Mr Muhyiddin allying with Umno and other parties to oust PH from power and replacing Dr Mahathir as premier.
A week after he was sworn as prime minister last Sunday, Mr Muhyiddin has yet to announce his Cabinet line-up.
A former Cabinet minister who defected to Mr Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance, Ms Zuraida Kamaruddin, said on Sunday that she expects the Cabinet to be announced on Tuesday (March 10).
Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan said on Sunday that Mr Muhyiddin, 72, had sent a letter to Dr Mahathir seeking a meeting.
"Tan Sri Muhyiddin said (on Friday) he had tried to arrange for an appointment with Dr Mahathir, and had sent a letter to him, requesting to meet.
"Now, we are only waiting for a date from Dr Mahathir. We hope that he is willing to meet as soon as possible," Mr Wan Saiful, who is with the PM Muhyiddin faction, said in a statement.
Mr Wan Saiful said he hopes that the Bersatu leadership will once again unite and work together in peace.
"The majority of Bersatu members want the party's leadership to unite. Let us urge and appeal to our top leaders to make peace and to cooperate with each other," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir, 94, in a community event in Kedah on Saturday said he felt sorry that PM Muhyiddin had joined forces with those accused of criminal offences in order to fulfil his prime ministerial ambitions.
He was referring to alleged corruption facing several top Umno leaders, including ex-premier Najib Razak, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and its secretary-general, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who are all facing separate court trials.
"I have been prime minister twice, so no big deal lah. It's not that I want the position that much. But when a friend stabs you in the back, it hurts," Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian newspaper.
A hopeful Mr Wan Saiful said: "I hope that the party (Bersatu) would stop disseminating statements or organising events that will not bring peace. There is no need to go to the local or foreign media to further divide the party.
"Let us solve (problems) internally with the spirit of being in one family. In such a situation, holding prayer events to pray for the reconciliation of our leaders would be more beneficial."
