However, PKR Youth secretary Ahmad Syukri Abd Razab said, the party must be willing to back PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as the opposition’s candidate for prime minister.

He told FMT that this was in line with the PH leadership’s decision previously to work under the “big tent” concept with any political party that upholds the coalition’s principles and policies.

“Whether it’s Pejuang or Umno, or any other party, if they’re willing to accept PH’s basic concepts, I think there’s no problem in working together.

“Among the conditions agreed by PH is to continue backing Anwar as our prime ministerial candidate. If PH takes over Putrajaya, this principle cannot be compromised.

“If Mahathir and Pejuang can accept this principle and become honest and sincere partners, I don’t see why we can’t welcome Mahathir,” he said when asked about working with Pejuang.

However, Syukri said the coalition will need to consider the sentiments of PKR grassroots before working with Mahathir, saying their supporters had a bad experience when the former prime minister led the PH government for 22 months.

“Many issues were sparked by Mahathir, like when he said the PH manifesto was not a ‘bible’ or when he made PKR traitors senior government leaders.

“These issues make it harder for PKR members to accept Mahathir as a partner.

“At the PH level, there’s no problem, because we’ve agreed with the ‘big tent’ policy. But at the PKR level, before opening this ‘tent’, the leadership must evaluate whether accepting Mahathir would strengthen the coalition or cause divisions,” he said.

Pejuang was officially registered by the Registrar of Societies as a political party on July 8. Currently, the party has four MPs and five assemblymen.

The PH government, comprising Bersatu, PKR, Amanah, DAP and Warisan fell in February last year when Mahathir resigned as prime minister after his former party, Bersatu, quit the coalition.