PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) officially formed an electoral pact today to ensure straight fights against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th General Election (GE14).
The electoral pact was formalised with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at a press conference at PKR headquarters here.
However, PPBM has not officially joined PH.
Opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the electoral pact between PH and PPBM was just the first step of cooperation ahead of GE14.
“The idea of a coalition is just a formality. Even this is just a formality. We have always been working together and we will continue to do so.
“A lot of things can happen between now and the elections. People change and things change; we will see what happens.”
Among the seven points listed in the agreement was to have only one candidate representing both PH and PPBM in the upcoming polls. The candidate will be selected with the agreement of all parties in the pact.
Under the agreement, all parties will negotiate with each other to ensure one-on-one fights against BN in the polls.
The parties are also to establish a formal opposition coalition before the next election so that they can form the government right after.
According to the agreement, the four parties in the coalition would have to decide on a common logo, a common manifesto and a common framework.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and PBBM president Muhyiddin Yassin were also present at the event.
Muhyiddin said other parties in the opposition coalition should make way for PPBM to contest certain seats in the 14th general election.
“It would make no sense for us to be here and not do anything to help the party win. So we will request to contest in places we know we can win.
“Ultimately, we will discuss (allocation of seats); winnability is important.
“Our agreement is to win the election first.”
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin remained coy on the ongoing negotiations between PPBM and PAS, but said his party would continue speaking to the Islamist party.
“We have just held our first round of negotiations with them and this will continue until we get a good outcome.
“We have only had the first meeting, so we need to give the talks a chance. But we will certainly have a timeline.
“Their (PAS) willingness to discuss and talk to us is important. It shows that there is intention or interest. We just don’t know what the conclusion will be.”