Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir
KOTA KINABALU (May 21): Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) is open to working with parties from both sides of the divide in Sabah, said its president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.
Mukhriz said they are open to working with bigger parties affiliated with the government as well as the smaller ones who have not even contested in any election.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, he however stressed that at the moment Pejuang is talking to political parties in the state as it tries to find a solid footing in Sabah.
“We are still at the discussion stage, not even the negotiation phase. We have to admit that the opposition (in Sabah) is not only crowded but also fragmented and we have yet to find a common cause, unlike what we have achieved during the 14th general election (GE14).
“But notwithstanding that, we continue to have discussions with literally all parties. At this moment everyone is talking to everyone else to see whether there is some formula that we could achieve,” he said, adding that such a formula was important in order to ensure all the parties who decide to work together can win in the GE15.
He is of the opinion that the general feeling is to find a formula that can reduce the political temperature which is still very heated at the moment.
“In any case, what’s really important to us is that whoever we want to work with must share our principles,” said Mukhriz before adding that Pejuang has met with the smaller parties in Sabah and will be moving on to the larger ones soon.
“Right now, I don’t see anyone not wanting to see us. Everyone is quite open about this and there’s nothing wrong about it. It’s just exploring possibilities,” he said.
Mukhriz is in the state capital for a Pejuang leadership retreat which ended on Saturday.
He also announced that the party’s official launching, which was earlier scheduled for Sunday (May 22), will be postponed to another date that will be announced in due time.
This is because Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had to attend the Nikkei Conference in Tokyo, Japan.
To a question on Pejuang’s challenging task to win over supporters in the state, he said that issues close to the hearts of Sabahans and Sarawakians like the Malaysia Agreement 1963 have been deeply debated in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said MPs from the government and opposition have also voted in favour for the Federal Constitution to be amended to benefit both the states.
“So this proves that issues close to the people are taken seriously by the MPs, including us (from Pejuang), to the point the amendments received bipartisan support. I think that has somewhat reduced the people’s grouses over such issues,” he said.
Mukhriz however acknowledged Pejuang’s challenge in introducing the party to Sabahans as it is a new party.
“Our logo is not familiar yet in a lot of places in Sabah. So it will be our responsibility to explain what the party is fighting for, with hopes that we will win more support before Parliament is dissolved,” he said.
State Pejuang chairman Nicholas Sylvester also said it is in the midst of setting up its divisions in all 25 Parliamentary constituencies here.