New party led by Ezam bid to join Pakatan Harapan
(MMO) – A new political party led by former senator Datuk Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor will officially request to join the Pakatan Harapan, according to one of its founders.
S. Gobi Krishnan, who founded the NewGen Party which is now known as Parti Bebas Rasuah (PBR), hopes the Opposition coalition will accept its request as they shared a common goal, Malay daily Sinar Harian reported today.
“We have big hopes to be accepted. We all have the same goals although our platforms are different,” Gobi was quoted saying.
The NewGen Party went through a name change after the entry of Ezam who harked from both Umno and PKR, and another former Umno leader, Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan.
Ezam, a former PKR Youth chief, rejoined Umno in 2007 but left it late last year to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), the youngest party in the Pakatan Harapan bloc, chaired by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and led by former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
However, he left PPBM shortly after joining it to form PBR.
Khairuddin, a former Umno leader who was sacked from the party, became one of the founders of PPBM, but also left to help form PBR.
Gobi said that PBR is seeking to contest the Pekan and Titiwangsa parliamentary seats, currently held by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani respectively.
Gobi also said that the name change of the party was submitted to the Registrar of Societies last week. He will remain as the secretary-general of PBR, the same position he held in the NewGen party.
Ezam will be its president while Khairuddin will be the deputy president.
The party is a multi-racial platform with the main agenda of fighting corruption.