“It’s clear that this is the whole party’s sentiment, not just mine. They (Bersatu) cannot be accepted. The sentiment is very strong,” he told reporters when asked whether he would rule out working with Bersatu in GE15.
“These people committed a big crime in terms of our struggle. They caused a government to fall and for us (Pakatan Harapan) to lose our mandate. This is not my personal position (but that of PKR).”
Last month, it was reported that Bersatu’s top leadership was open to the possibility of cooperating with its former allies in PH in a bid to challenge BN in GE15.
The “big tent” term is used to describe Anwar’s preference for uniting all opposition parties against BN ahead of GE15.
However, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli is against the idea as the Sheraton Move showed how the coalition could be betrayed by a component member like Bersatu, whose withdrawal led to the collapse of the PH government in February 2020.
At a press conference after the PKR congress at IDCC Shah Alam, Anwar also said that PH would “cross the bridge when we come to it” when asked about the possibility of post-election cooperation with other parties.
Touching on the opposition’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government, Anwar said he held discussions with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently, but that they were inconclusive.
Among the MoU’s terms include ensuring that Parliament is not dissolved until at least July 31.
While some PH leaders have been pushing for the MoU to be extended, Umno is opposed to the idea as the party is confident it can do well if an early general election is called.
“We don’t want to force the general election as there are immediate concerns that must be addressed,” Anwar said.
Anwar said although he did not agree with PKR members filing reports with the Registrar of Societies (RoS) regarding the party’s recently concluded election, the party would not take any action against them.
PKR has been served with a notice from the RoS to clarify the results of its recently concluded election after the body said it had received complaints about the matter.
The party faced over 1,800 complaints of fraud in the voting process during the May election, with a forensic audit of the election later recommending that the party update its voting records – which it duly did.