In a Facebook post, the former Ketereh MP, who was recently expelled from Umno, said he was touched by the response to his NGO.

“I now have a newfound strength to continue fighting alongside those who are honest and sincere,” he said.

Yesterday, FMT reported that online applications to join the NGO had been opened a week earlier than expected.

Annuar said he decided to accept applications earlier than scheduled as there had been many requests. “It was supposed to be next week,” he said in a Facebook post.

“Muafakat Nasional” is also the name of the former political alliance which was formed between Umno and PAS in September 2019, a year after Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 general election (GE14) and took over Putrajaya.

Annuar was expelled from Umno last week for being critical of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and for allegedly helping the party’s rivals in the recent general election (GE15). Annuar was dropped from the party’s list of candidates for GE15.

He later said he would “activate” his non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Muafakat Nasional, of which he is the president, to foster cooperation and unity among the Islamic community and strengthen the political system, based on the Rukun Negara and Federal Constitution.

Last month, an aide of Annuar sought to clarify that Muafakat Nasional was not a political party but was registered as an NGO with the Registrar of Societies (RoS).