Mahathir says no longer chairman of GTA

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he is no longer Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman and that the political coalition is no longer functioning.

He said the GTA had not been functioning as intended and its registration had not been approved by the Registrar of Societies.

"The (GTA chairman) post has been there for a long time. There is nothing wrong with it. Since GTA is not functioning, it cannot help us. As a (political) party, we found that it cannot win. We contested in the 15th general election, and GTA and Pejuang (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air) lost 125 seats.

"So it seems that as a party, we cannot win. If we want to win and fight for the Malays, we have to get the support of the Malays," he told reporters at an Aidilfitri celebration organised by the Pertubuhan Prihatin Kubang Pasu in Alor Setar last night.

Also present was Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir.
 
Mahathir was asked to explain his position as the chairman of GTA, which is an alliance of four political parties namely Pejuang, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia and Parti Perikatan Indian Muslim National, as well as non-governmental organisations that formed Gagasan Bangsa.

On Jan 14 this year, Pejuang announced withdrawing from GTA and this led to Mahathir leaving the party which he founded with 12 others. Mahathir was later reported to have joined Putra.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz, responding to questions from the media, said Pejuang had yet to decide on contesting in the coming state elections to be held in six states.

The matter is still being discussed, he said.

When asked whether the party will consider cooperating with other parties, Mukhriz said Pejuang is open to the idea.