Zaid, a former member of PH components PKR and DAP, said Bersatu was simply a breakaway party of Umno after all.

“If you can accept Umno, then indeed, a breakaway faction like Bersatu is equally palatable.

“The prospect of (PH chairman and PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim holding hands with (Bersatu Supreme Council member) Azmin Ali is a welcome scenario,” he said in a posting on X.

Zaid, who is now back in Umno, said PH could let Azmin become the menteri besar of Selangor, which he described as being “the prized takeaway”, while Anwar remains as prime minister.

Bersatu, a splinter party from Umno, was set up in 2016 with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its chairman.

It used to be a component of PH but quit the coalition in February 2020 following the Sheraton Move, which led to the collapse of the PH-led government.

Bersatu, currently led by Muhyiddin Yassin, is a component of Perikatan Nasional with PAS and Gerakan.

While Umno and PAS used to be close allies under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance, the pact fell apart after PAS joined PN while insisting that Bersatu be included in MN.

Six Bersatu MPs have declared their support for Anwar as the prime minister, capitalising on a loophole in the anti-hopping law, while one Bersatu assemblyman has also backed Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has been quoted as claiming that more high-profile leaders of opposition parties are set to join PKR.