PUTRAJAYA: Pejuang’s shift in direction played a role in his decision to quit the party he had founded, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister said Pejuang’s decision to leave the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) pact was another factor.
“Pejuang rejecting GTA is like them rejecting me. This is because I am in GTA, but Pejuang does not want to be in GTA.
“So, I have to choose whether to be with Pejuang, of which I was still a member, or GTA. I chose to be with GTA,” he told the press at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here yesterday.
When asked what his next move would be, he said it was to strengthen GTA, which was ready to accept anyone who has similar goals for the “betterment of the country, race, and religion”.
However, he confirmed that those who have been sacked or resigned from other political parties (such as Umno) recently have yet to approach GTA.
On Friday, 13 Pejuang members, including Dr Mahathir who was formerly its chairman, quit the party.
This came after Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir announced on Jan 14 that it was leaving GTA after taking the views of delegates during its second general assembly following its poor performance in the 15th General Election (GE15) last November.
Dr Mahathir founded Pejuang in 2020 but quit as chairman after the party lost in all 369 parliamentary and state seats it had contested in GE15.
He had also founded GTA in August 2022, a political pact comprising Pejuang, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional, as well as several non-governmental organisations.
