Pejuang intends to win GE15, form govt

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Pejuang does not intend to enter the 15th general election to be a kingmaker, said its deputy president Marzuki Yahya.

Instead, he said, the party wanted to form a government.

Marzuki explained that Pejuang’s intention in GE15 was to win the election and form a government – with more than 120 seats to be contested.

According to him, although Pejuang’s debut in the Johor state polls was not encouraging, it was not a benchmark for the party’s achievements.

“When we contest 120 seats, then our goal is to be a government that no longer talks about the question of kingmaker. For us, we were set up to win elections, not to be kingmakers.

Norman Goh/Malaysiakini

“When we created the party, what we expected was a victory to form a government. So, to form a government, we have to contest more than 112 seats. This is what we are working on.

“We have set our stance to contest no less than 120 seats,” he said in an interview with Malaysiakini.

In the 14th general election, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Bersatu leadership contested on the PKR ticket, following a collaboration with Pakatan Harapan – which enabled him to be appointed as the seventh prime minister.

However, the political crisis in 2020 saw Mahathir ousted from the premiership and Bersatu’s departure, led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, from Harapan.

Mahathir then established Pejuang alongside some of his other supporters.

GE15 will see Pejuang appear for the first time as a political party.

During the Johor state polls last March, Pejuang contested 42 out of the 56 state seats. However, the party failed to win any seats.

When asked about the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the GE15, Marzuki said that Pejuang wanted to win the election first.

“We have not decided on a candidate for prime minister yet. For us, we are fighting not to be the prime minister,” he said.

Commenting on Mahathir’s role in GE15, Marzuki said Pejuang still needed the former prime minister.

He described Mahathir as an icon who had a big impact on the party, especially in gaining the people’s support.

“For me, Tun is an icon whose presence overrides the question of ‘parties’.

“His presence will have a big impact on support, especially the people who have felt, believe in his leadership,” he added. – Malaysiakini