Parti Pribumi Malaysia Bersatu (Bersatu) deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir is unsure whether his father Dr Mahathir Mohamad is serious about becoming prime minister again.

Asked if Mahathir, who is Bersatu chairperson, was joking, Mukhriz replied: "I don't know, you tell me.”

“Looking at the media reports with conflicting headlines, I don't know which one to believe. Some of you guys claimed he said 'no', some claimed he said 'maybe', and some claimed (he said) 'yes'.

"I am confused," he said when met at Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning.

Mukhriz said while he has yet to ask his father about the matter, Bersatu has not decided on its own designated prime minister candidate.

In a Facebook live session yesterday, Mahathir admitted he might be forced to consider becoming prime minister again if Pakatan Harapan has such a plan for him in the coming general election.

"I cannot ignore my friends in the Pakatan Harapan coalition. If they have such a plan and it is agreed upon, I may be forced to consider," said the former premier.

Mahathir, 92, was prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

Mukhriz denies rift with Harapan

Meanwhile, Mukhriz also denied that Bersatu, which on several occasions failed to attend press conferences or issue joint press statements with its allies, had an issue with the coalition.

Bersatu was absent at the joint press conference held by its allies on the Malaysian Indian Blueprint last week.

"I think sometimes we are not aware or sometimes (we are informed about a function) in short notice. I don't see this as a major problem," he said.

Mukhriz also denied news reports regarding a "mass exodus" of Bersatu members in Perak.

"I won't call it a mass (exodus), I don't know why the media reported 500 or 1,000 people (left the party). You look at the picture, I counted only 33," he said.

Mukhriz said he was not perturbed by this development as it is common for parties to face such problems in the inception stages.

He also expressed disappointment that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin's event at a mosque in Tangkak, Johor, had been cancelled.

"This is only organised by a MP in his constiuency, not a political speech," he said.

Muhyiddin was to attend a function at Masjid An-Nur in Pekan Kundang Ulu on Saturday, where he planned to provide rice and other contributions to the representatives of mosques and madrassahs within his Pagoh parliamentary constituency.