He said MN was never meant to be exclusively for Umno or PAS, adding that the alliance wanted to grow “organically”.

“In discussing MN’s direction, Umno and PAS have stated our commitment to getting other parties involved in strengthening the unity of the ummah.

“The new norm of politics demands inclusivity. Those who succeed in building cooperation and who do not split will be successful,” he said in a series of Twitter posts this morning.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi earlier announced that MN had agreed to invite PPBM to join the alliance, saying this was decided at a meeting chaired by the deputy presidents of his party and PAS.

MN was formally set up in September last year. Together with PPBM, it forms the loose coalition of Perikatan Nasional (PN), which runs the federal government with the support of Sarawak’s ruling GPS coalition.

The decision came days after Zahid’s deputy, Mohamad Hasan, said the party’s grassroots were “not comfortable and do not agree” with the idea of PPBM joining the pact.