Malaysia's Perikatan Nasional rejects Pejuang's application to join coalition

KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has dismissed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s (Pejuang) application to join the coalition as a component party.

In a statement on Tuesday (Mar 21), PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said: “The Supreme Council has made a decision to reject the application of Parti Pejuang Tanahair (to join) Perikatan Nasional.”

Mr Hamzah said the decision was made after its supreme council meeting was conducted on Monday. No reasons were given as to why Pejuang’s application has been rejected. 

The meeting was chaired by coalition chairman Muhyiddin Yassin and was attended by representatives of member parties including Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) president Dominic Lau. 

On the upcoming six state elections, Mr Hamzah also noted that the coalition will use the PN logo in four states, while the PAS logo will be used in the remaining two states. 

“The Supreme Council of Perikatan Nasional also made a decision to continue the use of the Perikatan Nasional logo in the Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan state elections and to use the PAS party logo in Kelantan and Terengganu. 

“The Supreme Council also instructed the election machinery in the six states to strengthen preparations and preparedness at the highest level,” he added. 

The six states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor will hold elections this year.

It has been reported that the states have reached an understanding to dissolve their respective assemblies in the last two weeks of June.

On Mar 2, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said that he had sent a letter to Muhyiddin after the party’s central executive council had conducted reviews and evaluated all its options for political cooperation.

According to Mr Mukhriz, the council decided that an electoral pact was not viable for the sole purpose of avoiding clashes in contested seats, especially if both parties used different logos.

“It is more beneficial for all parties if Pejuang joins PN and uses the PN logo.

“Pejuang's application to be a member of PN is to ensure that there is no split in the Malay vote in the upcoming election,” he said, adding that he hoped for a positive response from PN’s top leadership.

It was previously reported that Mr Hamzah had criticised Mr Mukhriz’s move in consulting both PN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) to cooperate in the coming state elections. 

The New Straits Times quoted Mr Hamzah as saying that Mr Mukhriz was desperate to look for a seat in order to ensure the continuation of his career in politics. 

Mr Mukhriz, a former chief minister of Kedah, is the son of Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had two stints as the prime minister of Malaysia.  

Pejuang was formed in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move that saw Bersatu leave PH in Feb 2020, causing the coalition to be ousted from the federal government.

Dr Mahathir was later sacked from Bersatu and set up Pejuang in Aug 2020, which he left in February 2023. He has since joined the little-known Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra).