Speaking at a press conference today, Mahathir insisted that Bersatu will be prepared to face challenges in the event that Bersatu will not be allowed to be registered as an official party.
“Many people have already applied to join us as members, but we cannot accept any memberships until we are officially registered by the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
“We are ready to appeal in the event that there is any disapproval. We do not want to cause any trouble in this matter,” said Mahathir.
Bersatu’s protem president, Muhyiddin Yassin, said that membership applications will be accepted the moment the party is approved by the registrar. He hoped registration would be completed by the end of the month.
He added that the party’s Bumiputera-only membership should not be an issue, saying that the associate memberships was available to non-Bumiputera Malaysians, providing them an opportunity to “have a voice”.
“We do not ask why parties like MCA and MIC do not have associate members. This just shows that Bersatu is more open. We give them a chance to voice out. Not necessarily as a member with a post in the party, but we give them the chance to speak,” Muhyiddin said.
Asked about the conflicts within the opposition coalitions and if Bersatu would be willing to work with them, Muhyiddin stated that opposition leaders are clear about their campaign against Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.
“The winning formula is that we must work together. We acknowledge the problems that they are facing and we will work towards finding a solution.
“If we can take things slowly and focus on our priorities, we can set aside our differences and talk as friends,” said Muhyiddin.
Mahathir shared Muhyiddin’s sentiment, adding that opposition party DAP have agreed with him on several matters, such as the Citizens’ Declaration calling for the resignation of Najib.
“We do not see eye to eye on everything, but we do agree on certain issues. They were prepared to support an initiative that was created by me.
“We do not agree on everything but what we do agree on is that we want Najib to step down,” he said.
On the Citizens’ Declaration, which includes a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers Conference, Mahathir said that they have not had the chance to meet with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He said there were signs of Umno trying to block the meeting. “We are still holding on to it,” said Mahathir. He did not elaborate about how Umno was trying to block the meeting.