He said his party really wanted to have all those who oppose Prime Minister Najib Razak gathered under one banner.
However, if this is taking too long, the opposition faction has to move forward with its plan to defeat the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, added Mahathir.
“We are trying to get all those who claim they are against Najib’s government to join us, because if all of us stand together as a united front, the chances of us winning would be much better.
“But if we can’t achieve this because there are those with a hidden agenda of helping Najib stay in power, then we will move on without them.
“Because this is politics and in a democratic country, we can’t arrange everything,” he told the press at the DAP national conference here today.
When asked about the deadline for PAS to decide if it will work alongside Pakatan Harapan, Mahathir said it hasn’t been decided yet.
“We will make the decision as soon as possible. I have to consult with my colleagues in PPBM first.”
Mahathir, along with other leaders in PPBM and PKR, have stressed the importance of PAS’ participation, saying without it a three-cornered fight during the next general election cannot be avoided, and would likely help BN.
In this situation, they explained, BN is bound to come out victorious as the opposition votes would be split.
PAS however, has insisted that it will not make the same mistake by working with DAP again. DAP is one of three main parties in the Pakatan Harapan coalition, the other two being PKR and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
On a separate matter, Mahathir joked about the comment made by Wanita Umno president Shahrizat Abdul Jalil at the Umno general assembly this week.
She had claimed that the day she saw the former Umno president “kissing” his former enemy, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, was the darkest day of her life.
“I haven’t reached that stage yet. We can be liberal, but liberalism has its limits.
“If all of you turn up naked today, I would object to it,” he said to the amusement of the media present.
Mahathir made a surprise appearance at the DAP national conference this morning, sharing the stage with among others, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.