KOTA BARU: The Perikatan Nasional (PN) supreme council will hold a special meeting to discuss a request by Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) to join the coalition.
Pas secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the meeting would be held as soon as possible.
"I would like to confirm that it's true that PN has received an application from Pejuang. The PN chairman has already given his statement on the issue.
"The application is not only from Pejuang, but also from Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa). There will be a meeting soon to discuss the issue," Takiyuddin told reporters here today.
The Kota Baru member of parliament said the decision by the two parties to join PN proved that it managed to attract not only individuals, but also other political parties despite not being the government.
It was reported today that Pejuang had applied to join PN.
Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir had said the decision was made by the party's central executive council in a meeting held about two days ago. It wanted to join PN after evaluating all existing political coalitions and cooperation in the country, he said.
Mukhriz, who is a former Jerlun MP, said Pejuang's decision to join PN would prevent a split in Malay votes in the upcoming state elections.
The decision by Pejuang to join PN comes a day after Pejuang chairman and Mukhriz's father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, joined Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) as his new platform to fight for Malay rights. Putra is a party led by Datuk Ibrahim Ali.
Pas elections director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had previously said there had been a meeting between Mukhriz and the top leadership of the Islamist party recently.
Kedah Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar had also confirmed that Mukhriz met him in Kuala Lumpur about two months ago to discuss a possible cooperation between Pejuang and PH for the state elections.
At that time, Mahfuz had said any cooperation could only be decided by the PH presidential council.