PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is ready to work again with his former colleague-turned-rival Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after the latter extended an olive branch to him two days ago.
“I welcome Dr Mahathir’s statement that he is willing to cooperate with me. I am aware of recent political developments putting the Malays and Muslims in this country at a tough crossroads,” Muhyiddin, who is Perikatan Nasional chairman and Bersatu president, said in a statement.
“As a Muslim, I am ready to cooperate with all Malay and Muslim leaders to defend religion, race and country,” he said yesterday.
Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin founded Bersatu together in 2016 and the party joined the Pakatan Harapan coalition which then came to federal power in the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018.
But they both parted ways when the Pakatan government was brought down by the Sheraton Move in February 2020 which saw Muhyiddin taking the party out of the coalition despite protests from Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister and Bersatu chairman and was sacked from the party three months later for not supporting the Muhyiddin-led Perikatan government.
Both led rival coalitions that contested against each other in GE15, with Muhyiddin heading Perikatan and Dr Mahathir helming Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA).
Perikatan is now an opposition coalition while Dr Mahathir is spearheading an initiative called the Malay Proclamation.
On Thursday, Dr Mahathir said he was ready to work again with Muhyiddin if an agreement could be reached on mutual goals, which is to champion the Malay cause and reject the corrupt.
