Report: Azmin says ex-PKR faction mulling joining Muafakat
(MMO) – Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali has said that his faction of MPs formerly from PKR are still considering the idea of joining Umno and PAS’s joint pact Muafakat Nasional (MN), a report has said.
According to The Malaysian Insight, Azmin had said that there will be “continued discussion” as MN was formed before the current ruling pact Perikatan Nasional.
“The situation before is different from today’s, so there are matters to be discussed,” he was quoted saying in Penang last night by The Malaysian Insight.
Azmin who was PKR deputy president had along with 10 other MPs parted ways with PKR in February, with Baru Bian since then joining Sarawak-based opposition party Parti Sarawak Bersatu.
Last month, Zuraida Kamaruddin who were MPs who parted ways with PKR said that these MPs had yet to formally join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
The MN pact was formally established between Umno and PAS in September 2019, while the current federal government that was formed early this year is under the loose Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact.
In a separate report by Free Malaysia Today, Azmin when responding to Umno’s recent snub of PN was reported saying that he felt PN partners should hold private discussions regarding internal matters.
“I don’t think there is a need to discuss such matters in the press or on social media. We should talk behind closed doors,” he was quoted saying by Free Malaysia Today.
In the same The Malaysian Insight report, Azmin was quoted saying that the spirit of consensus built within Perikatan Nasional since the beginning of the year has been successful, and that matters should be discussed privately as a sign of “respect” to Perikatan Nasional partners.
On Thursday, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that Umno had decided not to join Perikatan Nasional as a component party if the coalition were to be registered, clarifying however that this did not mean that Umno was pulling out from Perikatan Nasional and Umno’s elected lawmakers would continue to support the federal and state government under Perikatan Nasional.
