KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s (Pejuang) recent decision to leave the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition is meant to pave the way for party president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and his faction to make a comeback in time for state elections that are expected this year, sources have said.

A source, who is currently with GTA, alleged to Malay Mail that the move was a deliberate one because the Pejuang faction aligned with Mukhriz is keen to take over the party leadership and forge new alliances.

Previously, the source explained that the faction felt that several leaders loyal to GTA founder Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad were standing in the way of Pejuang’s progress.

The source said that these individuals were seen as a hindrance due to their commitment to GTA and their opposition to the plans that Mukhriz’s faction has for the party.

"The latest move will possibly see Mukhriz reaching out to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, with the aim of contesting Kedah during the coming state election.

"It is no secret that Mukhriz harbours hopes of a comeback as the Kedah menteri besar as this is the only way for him to remain politically relevant,” said the source, who recently left Pejuang as he felt the new leadership had strayed from what the party stood for when Dr Mahathir had a say.

The same source claimed that Kedah PH chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar was acting as an emissary by arranging a meeting between Mukhriz and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is the coalition’s chief.

However, the source could not confirm when the supposed meeting would happen, adding that the main topic of discussion would be Pejuang’s possible entry into PH as a component party.

"From there, Pejuang leaders hope to contest the Kedah and Selangor state elections. However, the priority is Kedah, where Mukhriz is keen to put himself forward as the state’s menteri besar candidate,” said the source to Malay Mail on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

It is thought that Pejuang’s plan to contest Kedah came shortly after the party announced its withdrawal from the GTA coalition during its second general assembly on January 14.

The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back is said to be last year’s general election (GE15), which saw the Malay-Muslim party failing to win any parliamentary seats, which in turn had come on the heels of a disastrous outing in the Johor state polls.

Another source close to the GTA leadership, confirmed that Mukhriz and Pejuang were keen to step out of Dr Mahathir’s shadow and forge a comeback in the state polls.

"Yes, that is the direction they are going,” said the source, in reference to Pejuang’s plans to reach out to other parties in an effort to remain politically relevant.

Despite the turn of events, the earlier source said those within GTA were puzzled by the news that Pejuang was possibly looking to cooperate with PH.

He added that this was seen as Pejuang being desperate to be on the "winning team” and going against what Dr Mahathir had wanted for the party initially, which was to strengthen its grassroots support.

"It is sad to see this is happening to Pejuang as it repeats what happened with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) back in 2020 when Tun and his team were removed,” said the source.

At present, the GTA source said the party will not be taking any action over what has transpired as the situation was complex and involves Mukhriz, who is Dr Mahathir’s son.

Checks by Malay Mail with a Pejuang source confirmed that they had removed certain leaders who were loyal to Dr Mahathir and seen as being against Mukhriz.

He said the majority of Pejuang members had decided that the party would be better off distancing itself from GTA.

"It was something that needed to be done for Pejuang to move on. These were the party leaders who had cost us badly in the recent elections, both in Johor and nationally.

"At the same time, we still respect Tun because we see him as a father figure. We just want him to take a hiatus from politics due to his age,” said the Pejuang source who is close to the current leadership.

However, the same source denied the claim that Mukhriz was "power hungry”, adding that Pejuang were in fact open to discussions with any interested parties, and not just PH.

He said that Pejuang has plans to expand its nationwide membership soon.

Pejuang suffered such a drubbing in GE15, even Dr Mahathir and Mukhriz ended up losing their deposits in Kedah.

On January 14, it was reported that Pejuang had withdrawn from the GTA coalition.

At the time, Mukhriz said Pejuang’s stance was to remain open to negotiations with any political coalition ahead of polls in six states that are due to take place this year.

A few days prior, Dr Mahathir had announced that he had quit Pejuang, a party that he founded a little over two years ago, and that he would be continuing his political journey with GTA.

The announcement appeared to signal a split in political terms from his son Mukhriz.