Parti Amanah Negara dan DAP said they would reject any deal with Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, following reports that PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had recently met the Bersatu secretary-general.
“There can be no deals or attempts to make any deals with Hamzah, the main conspirator for the ‘Sheraton Move’ power grab,” the two parties said in a statement, referring to the move made by Bersatu and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s faction that ultimately led to PH government’s fall.
“Any calculations that involve Hamzah, but side-lining Parti Warisan Sabah and Dr Mahathir’s group cannot be accepted and are not based on our principles,” read the statement signed by Amanah deputy president Datuk Salahuddin Ayub and DAP vice-president M Kulasegaran.
The two Harapan component parties said any attempt to reclaim Putrajaya to restore the people’s mandate must include the “five original” coalition members, including Mahathir’s faction of Bersatu and ally Warisan, that were voted in by the people on May 9, 2018.
“Amanah and DAP maintain that Warisan and Mahathir’s faction of Bersatu are not our enemies. Instead, they are our allies in the fight against the kleptocratic PN alliance.
“In essence, we would like our allies to know who are actually friends and who are foes,” the two parties said.
Apart from Hamzah, who is also the Home Minister, Bersatu secretary-general, Salahudin and Kulasegaran added that there should be no attempt to form a government with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Earlier this month, Malaysiakini quoted PKR chief whip Datuk Johari Abdul as confirming that Anwar has met several figures in PN including Muhyiddin, Hamzah, and several Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders.
Johari reportedly said the party has given Anwar carte blanche to negotiate with anybody in order to return the PH government to power, and for him sell the idea of Reformasi.
However, Anwar claimed yesterday that his meeting with Hamzah, which was to discuss current affairs, Home Ministry matters and to convey the opposition’s views, was reported to the Harapan presidential council last month.
In an interview with Malaysiakini last week, Mahathir had named Muhyiddin, Azmin and Hamzah as the main trio behind the coup that toppled the previous administration.
PH is attempting to return to federal power by working with Warisan and Dr Mahathir’s faction in an alliance dubbed “Pakatan Plus”.
But their plans have stalled after they could not secure a majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat and agree on a prime ministerial candidate.
Recent reports said that during a meeting between Mahathir with Amanah, DAP and Warisan on June 25, it was proposed that Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal be the prime ministerial candidate.
Mahathir had claimed that the decision to back Shafie as PM, with Anwar and disputed Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir as deputy prime ministers, had received the backing of DAP and Amanah.
However, DAP and Amanah later said they needed to consult their respective party’s leadership and Harapan’s presidential council on this matter.
Mahathir also said he would no longer be in the running for the top post.
Prior to naming Shafie, Mahathir had initially proposed to return as prime minister for a record third time, claiming he would take up the mantle for six months before finally handing over the reins to Anwar.
This was rejected by PKR, who insisted that Anwar should be the prime ministerial candidate.