Party president Anwar Ibrahim said PKR also had sufficient majority in Parliament.
“I told them it would be difficult at this juncture for PKR to accept them because the general mood of the public is to support PH and our reform agenda.
“We want to defend the integrity and the principles of our struggle so that it will not disrupt the reform and changes that we want to achieve,” he said.
Anwar was speaking after launching PKR vice-president Tian Chua’s new book titled “Lakaran Jiwa Merdeka: Catatan dari Penjara Kajang” in Universiti Malaya.
Commenting on the exodus of 36 elected representatives, senators and division heads in Sabah from Umno, Anwar declined to name those who had approached PKR.
He said it would not be proper for him to name the leaders, especially since PKR had not accepted them and had no intention to pursue the matter further.
Although the four MPs and nine state assemblymen who left Umno said they were now independents, speculation is rife that they would join PPBM, which has yet to start its chapter in Sabah.
Fuelling such talk was confirmation by PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday that several Sabah Umno leaders had approached him before making their decision to quit Umno.
Anwar said PH coalition partners must remain committed to its agenda if they wanted to successfully reform the government.
He said it was “up to PPBM to consider these views”.
Meanwhile, Anwar also commented on news reports that he had met former tourism minister and Umno’s Padang Rengas MP Mohamed Nazri Aziz.
He said he had met many leaders from the opposite side, including Nazri, in Parliament, pointing out that he was always ready to discuss PH’s reform agenda with anyone.
Commenting on requests to not shame former prime minister Najib Razak, Anwar said the investigations being undertaken were not done to humiliate him but to uphold the rule of law.
He said if there was a basis for the investigating authorities and the attorney-general to prosecute Najib then it was their duty to charge him and he supported the decision to do so.