KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pejuang Tanah Air will support any member of parliament who is able to gather majority support in the Dewan Rakyat, according to its president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.
This, he said, included the main three contenders – opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.
"We (Pejuang) are open to accepting any of the three if they have the majority but, priority will be given to our friends from Pakatan Harapan and so, the first (Anwar) and second (Shafie) candidates are the ones we prioritise.
"Pejuang understands that the appointment of a prime minister is important as stated in the constitution because we can't continue to stay in a scenario where there is no government.
"Pejuang will look for a (prime minister) candidate with the most majority and we expect to find out about this (identity of to-be prime minister) by tomorrow," he said in an interview with Astro Awani today.
At the same time, Mukhriz did not discount the possibility of Pejuang working with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Pas and Umno.
"That is not something any of us can avoid when you want to get the required number."
Currently, the number of MPs from Pejuang, when combined with that of Warisan which had also made a similar declaration, stands at 12.
Despite the small figure, they can influence the support for Anwar, who is hopeful for full backing from the opposition bloc.
It is understood that PH is currently working towards gaining support from several MPs from the previous government bloc, especially Umno, in completing the numbers to get a simple majority.
The Dewan Rakyat currently has a 220 strong membership, with two vacancies. A simple majority would require 111 MPs backing an incoming prime minister.