KUBANG PASU: Pakatan Harapan (PH) must win as many seats as possible to have the upper hand in negotiating the formation of a unity government after the 15th General Election (GE15).
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said PH would have to win big to defend the people's agenda.
"It is not impossible that GE15 will end up with no single coalition securing a simple majority to form the federal government.
"At the moment, we don't have any closed-door discussion or options. I mentioned this so that the people will understand the situation.
"In the event that we (PH) win less than 100 seats, for example, whether we like it or not, this matter (negotiation with another political coalition) will need to be considered.
"However, after being 'stung' several times, of course our priority is to defend the people's agenda.
"That should be the prerequisite before any negotiation takes place later," she said after attending a rally in Taman Pantai Halban, Jitra here yesterday evening.
On Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remark that PH and Perikatan Nasional were being arrogant for rejecting Gerakan Tanah Air's (GTA) offer to form an electoral pact, Nurul Izzah said that was not an issue as PKR and PH were just protecting the interest of the people.
"I was among the first people who opened the space (for previous cooperation), but I think we must be careful (this time) because we need to prioritise the people's interest and we do not want other parties to compromise the agenda," she said.
Last week, Dr Mahathir openly called for opposition coalitions to work together to face the "common enemy" and ensure that Barisan Nasional (BN) would not return to power.
However, there were no takers for the offer made by the former premier, who is leading GTA, the third opposition bloc in GE15 after PH and Perikatan Nasional.
In the previous general election, Dr Mahathir's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia had worked with PH to defeat BN for the first time, ousting the government that had been in power for more than six decades since independence.
Dr Mahathir was eventually appointed as prime minister for the second time.
However, the PH government collapsed just after 22 months in power due to an internal power struggle and the infamous Sheraton Move.
In February 2020, Dr Mahathir made a shocking move when he resigned from the post, leading to the collapse of the PH government.
He then formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) before forming a new coalition with three other smaller parties under GTA.