Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
JOHOR BARU: The voice of the grassroots should be heard by Pakatan Harapan’s top leadership when considering Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) application to join the Opposition coalition, said Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
The Johor Baru MP said grassroots members, especially those from Johor Baru PKR, had an unfavourable experience where Muda “clashed” with the party during the state election in March.
“For us in Johor Baru, things are quite obvious after Muda contested in the Larkin state seat, which was a PKR seat.
“However, despite the opposing views, I understand that the ultimate decision on whether to accept Muda into Pakatan lies with the presidential council.
“I think if we can reach a consensus to accept Muda’s application, the grassroots will accept it and if not, it will not be an issue for Pakatan to go on with the status quo,” said Akmal when asked to comment on the issue during a press conference regarding a damaged pedestrian bridge on Jalan Tebrau here on Wednesday (Sept 14).
The Larkin state seat, which saw a six-cornered fight, was won by Barisan Nasional’s Hairi Md Shah.
Akmal, who is the PKR strategy director, also questioned the timing of the fledgling party’s application to join the coalition and its intentions.
“Their intentions should have been displayed even before this and not only as we are nearing the general election.
“It also shows that youths in Pakatan have managed to do something that has attracted Muda’s interest to join the coalition,” he added.
On Sept 9, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman told The Star that the party had submitted a letter to join Pakatan.
He had said the letter was submitted to the Pakatan presidential council and the party presidents of PKR, DAP, Parti Amanah Negara and Upko.
The Muar MP had previously said the fledgling party was ready to cooperate with Pakatan in GE15 and they are eyeing no more than 15 seats to contest.
