BERSATU has agreed to join the Muafakat Nasional pact to face the next general election along with Umno and PAS, said party sources.

They said Bersatu decided in a supreme council meeting last week when president Muhyiddin Yassin initiated the move to join the pact.

An official announcement is expected to be made just before the Slim by-election next month.

“The president asked the supreme council to see how many agreed with the move. Majority agreed and it was done,” a source told The Malaysian Insight.

A Bersatu source said the arrangement will not be formalised but a working agreement.

Another source said this is to smoothen negotiations for the Malay seats that all three parties will be eyeing for.

“Now we are looking to discuss the seats which were contested by these three parties in the last general election,” the source said.

The sources did not indicate if the three parties would be using their own logos or come together under the Muafakat Nasional banner.

Earlier today, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that Bersatu president and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had stated the party’s intention of joining Umno and PAS in a meeting yesterday with Barisan Nasional lawmakers.

Zahid said it will be up to Muafakat Nasional’s central committee to consider the request.

“I will leave it to the central committee to consider Bersatu’s intention of joining Muafakat Nasional if it strengthens the alliance for the sake of the people and country.”

PAS also will decide if Bersatu gets to join Muafakat Nasional, he added.

“Bersatu’s intention will be discussed with PAS.”

Zahid added that Umno will not formally joined the Perikatan pact but will work to strengthen Muafakat Nasional.

Umno supreme council member Razlan Raffi told The Malaysian Insight that Umno will welcome Bersatu’s decision to join Muafakat Nasional.

“They are joining us? If so, we welcome them.”

The Federal Territory Umno man did warn Bersatu to be reasonable during seat negotiations as the party was not as strong as Umno and PAS.

“We welcome Bersatu to join Muafakat. We urge to support a winning structure. There should not be blind party loyalty.

“Bersatu does not have much grassroots support, we need to see the strength of all parties. Whoever is the biggest we need to give them more, the smaller ones less,” Razlan said.

Bersatu supreme council member Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff said the favoured coalition will still be Perikatan Nasional that is currently being registered.

“The preferred choice will be Perikatan. As this is the alliance initiated by Bersatu and the rest joined to form the new government.”

He added seat negotiations will be fair.

“Seat negotiations are always going to be challenging thing. It was challenging under Pakatan Harapan. We will provide some form of check and balance to Perikatan.”

Umno and PAS formed Muafakat Nasional last year to work together in regaining the Malay vote to face Pakatan Harapan.

Later, the two Malay parties and Bersatu formed Perikatan to topple the Pakatan Harapan government.

Perikatan is also supported by MCA, MIC, Sarawak’s ruling pact GPS and parties from Sabah. – July 30, 2020.