KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday (Jul 5) that his meeting with former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad involved a discussion on the position and future of the Malays, as well as the latter’s support for the opposition coalition in the upcoming state elections.
“Essentially, we agreed to strengthen the unity among the Malays and enhance support for Perikatan Nasional, especially in facing the (six state elections) soon,” said Muhyiddin in a Facebook post following his meeting with Dr Mahathir which took place on Tuesday night.
The Election Commission on Wednesday announced that polling for the upcoming six state elections will take place on Aug 12.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also noted that the discussion on the future of the Malays in the country did not specifically touch on the Malay Proclamation.
The Malay Proclamation is a 12-point document written by Dr Mahathir that purportedly aims to protect the interests of and unite the Malay community to “restore the political power of Malays”.
In a statement earlier on Wednesday, the movement’s secretariat chairman Khairuddin Abu Hassan said that the meeting between the two leaders will “give new impetus to the Malay Proclamation movement” to empower and strengthen the position of Malays.
He added that the meeting, which took place for almost two hours, should be given high praise.
This is because Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin were willing to set aside all political differences in the past in order to ensure the continuation of the struggle to empower the Malay people in Malaysia, he said.
According to the Malay Mail, the meeting between the two former prime ministers is believed to be the first since the so-called “Sheraton Move” in 2020 when a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) defected from the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
This triggered the collapse of the short-lived PH government led by Dr Mahathir, paving the way for Muhyiddin to take up the mantle as Malaysia’s next prime minister.
Source: CNA
