PARTI Kuasa Rakyat (Kuasa) will not be working with Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) due to ideological differences, president Kamarazaman Yaakob said.

Kamarazaman, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s elder brother, added that the party will not merge with Minority Rights Action Party (Mira).

He formed Kuasa about a year ago, which had been linked with both PBM and Mira.

However, he said Kuasa would support Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming elections.

“Kuasa will remain Kuasa as for now. We will not be going to work with PBM in the election due to certain differences.

“We will also not be merging or taking over Mira, similarly due to differences,” Kamarazaman told The Malaysian Insight in an interview.

PBM is led by Zuraida Kamaruddin, who left Bersatu recently after barely two years in the party.

The journeyman MP for Ampang was formerly in PKR but left the party in 2020 during the infamous Sheraton Move.

Kamarazaman’s latest comments signify a distinct shift in position for the party, following his August 28 announcement that Kuasa would in fact work with PBM.

He said both parties shared the same principles and would be a government-friendly coalition.

“Kuasa is friendly to BN and today’s coalition government. By combining efforts, we will have renewed strength and can be seen as a major force in national politics,” he said in a press conference in Kota Kinabalu at the time.

Kamarazaman had also said his party would merge with PBM into one party but the matter would be decided at the PBM annual general meeting on October 1.

In recent months, Kuasa had also announced its merger with Mira but that too did not work out.

Ten months ago, Kamarazaman announced the formation of Kuasa, saying his party would not be able to realise its aim if they chose to be in the opposition.

Meanwhile, Kamarazaman said that Kuasa will continue to assist BN in the coming polls.

The Pahang-born former student activist revealed that he would not be contesting and have told party cadres to refrain from contesting.

“Strength wise, we are not able to join the election but we will be assisting BN. We do not have the financial support to field candidates, so I told party members that we need to back BN.” – October 22, 2022.