PPBM Vice-President Mukhriz Mahathir said this will allow a straight fight against Barisan Nasional (BN), which would avoid a split in votes among opposition supporters.
The new coalition’s name, he suggested, can be Barisan Rakyat (BR) and this will be discussed soon.
“BR versus BN. It’s important for us to ensure a straight fight against BN.
“We can have all the opposition parties under one coalition, just how BN has 14 component parties under it,” he said at a dialogue session held here last night.
The former Kedah Menteri Besar made the call as recent election results have proven that in a three-cornered fight, BN would often come out victorious.
This was shown in the last twin by-elections of Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar, where PAS’ presence saw the opposition suffering defeat to BN which won with a much higher majority, he said.
To avoid similar outcomes in GE14, PPBM founding leaders Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin are attempting to get PAS on board with their mission to take down the allegedly “corrupt” BN government, Mukhriz added.
“Imagine (in the elections), we have BN’s flag, BR’s flag, and suddenly, a moon flag (PAS’ logo). It will be very obvious that they are not with us.
“Tun has said himself, that anyone who causes a three-cornered fight is the one who wants Najib Razak to remain as prime minister.”
When asked if he believes PAS would actually work with the proposed BR coalition, especially with rumours flying around that the Islamist party is now silently working with ruling party Umno, Mukhriz said we will wait and see.
“If there are certain areas that Umno avoids (to contest in the next general election) to make way for PAS, then we will know.
“But we are talking to PAS right now and in fact, Muhyiddin will be featured in a joint programme with (PAS President) Abdul Hadi Awang soon.”
PPBM was officially registered as a new party earlier this month. The formation came after more than a year of failed efforts aimed at ousting Najib and his BN government.