In an interview with the Straits Times of Singapore, he said the Islamic party, which is at odds with the DAP, “recognises that I can play a role in this cooperation”.
He said: “The bigger picture is the need for us to work together to have enough seats to form the next government.”
Muhyiddin, who has been touted by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the opposition’s choice for prime minister, said opposition leaders had never discussed the matter. “There’s no point in talking about it before you have formed (a coalition)… Otherwise Malaysians will say you are not united,” he said in the interview.
Leaders of Pakatan Harapan have insisted that jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim remains their choice for the post.
Muhyiddin, who was ousted as Umno deputy president mid-year, heads the new Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia which he formed together with Dr Mahathir.
He said there was agreement that “PAS is integral to our agenda” and that there were conflicting views within PAS “but that is an issue which their leadership has to manage. They cannot have a person that agrees, then someone else who disagrees”.
In the ST interview, published today, Muhyiddin said PAS had made electoral gains in the recent past “not entirely because of the Malay vote” but because of their alliance with the DAP
“The issue, of course, is how do you engage with them, vis-a-vis not just the problems intra-PAS but between PAS and the other parties as well, in particular Amanah and DAP.”
PAS fell out with the DAP over plans to impose Islamic criminal penalties in Kelantan, after which PAS dissidents left and formed a new party, Amanah, which cooperates with the DAP and PKR in the Pakatan Harapan alliance.
The Islamic party had refused any cooperation with Amanah and the DAP, while PPBM and Pakatan have agreed not to contest the same seats to avoid splitting the opposition vote.
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