THERE have been no discussions yet with Pejuang on including the Malay-based party as part of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, Fahmi Fadzil said. 

The PKR information chief said that the coalition would not interfere with Pejuang’s internal affairs. 

“At this time and as far as I know, there has not been any discussion on this (Pejuang wanting to join PH). 

“The issue of unrest in any party is an internal issue of that particular party, we do not interfere,” Fahmi told reporters at the Chinese New Year Open House held at Taman Sri Sentosa, Kuala Lumpur today. 

Recently, Pejuang decided to break from the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition and chart its own path.

In January, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said that political cooperation with PH or Perikatan Nasional (PN) was one of the matters discussed in the party’s general assembly. 

On Friday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced his exit from the party along with 12 other members.

In a notice to Pejuang secretary-general Amiruddin Hamzah, they said they were leaving following the party’s decision to cut ties with GTA.

Fahmi said the focus for PH now will be to strengthen the unity government. 

“PH at this time is focusing on strengthening the unity government. There are some principles and some things that are our priorities,” he said. 

Commenting on the recent Merdeka Centre approval rating on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government, Fahmi said the finding was a good indicator on their performance.

“The Merdeka Center survey results recently became a yardstick of the initial success of the PM but it also became a gauge of how much more we need to do to solve problems,” he said. 

Pollster Merdeka Centre said Anwar’s approval rating was 68% while 54% of the population think his unity government was doing a good job.

This is according to a survey carried out in the second month following November’s general election. –  February 12, 2023.