PUTRAJAYA : Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin described PAS' stand to remain with Bersatu as a mark of strong solidarity.

The prime minister, who is also Bersatu president, said the same spirit also helped the Perikatan Nasional (PN) to formulate a clear direction, including preparations for the 15th general election (GE15).

“We (Bersatu and PAS) are determined that whatever the situation is, we will be together. The joint statement by Bersatu and PAS today shows our commitment to the direction of these two parties in PN.

"Whatever happens, it is about UMNO, but the cooperation between Bersatu and PAS, the direction is clear with the formation of a committee at the central level to set out the parties’ strategies, especially facing GE15, including negotiations on the allocation of seats," he said.

Muhyiddin said this after chairing Johor Bersatu and PN meetings at a hotel here.

Bersatu and PAS today issued a joint statement stating that they would continue to strengthen cooperation in PN to face the GE15 and will reject any formation of a post-GE15 ‘new alignment’ government, especially involving Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its allies.

Commenting further, Muhyiddin said to maintain the agreement, the distribution of parliamentary seats in GE15 was the main agenda of PN.

On the state PN meeting, he said the coalition had discussed the negotiations to resolve the seat allocation structure for the Johor parliamentary constituencies.

“The seat allocation structure is negotiated to identify whether Bersatu, PAS or Gerakan will lead. The final decision will be made by the leadership at the national level,” said Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP.

-- BERNAMA