PUTRAJAYA, Sept 1 — As political alliance building gains momentum ahead of the next general election (GE15), Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin today said that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is prepared to explore its options with other parties.

When asked to respond to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led Gerakan Tanah Air’s (GTA) offer of a possible sit-down, he simply said, "It’s OK. We are open to having discussions with anyone.”

On August 30, Bernama reported Dr Mahathir as saying that GTA had yet to decide whether to cooperate with PN for GE15 but was open to hashing it out.

During last weekend’s PN inaugural convention, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin offered a political ceasefire with other parties to fight the common enemy of Barisan Nasional (BN) and its bid to retain control of the federal government.

However, Bersatu’s partner in the coalition, PAS, has reportedly rejected any possibility of working with Pakatan Harapan, as the Islamist party preferred to form alliances with Malay-Muslim based parties to focus on "ummah unification”.

Prior to that, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli also insisted PH would not cooperate with PN.