PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today denied that the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition had issued the statement that went viral today over a remark made by the party's Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

He said he contacted all the secretaries of the Harapan component parties on the matter and was informed that there is no such statement issued.

“This is another fake news to create tension among the Harapan parties,” said Saifuddin Nasution, who is also the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, at a press conference after launching the ‘Citarasa Malaysia - A Day with Small and Medium Enterprises’ programme in Kuala Lumpur.

Saifuddin Nasution was commenting on the viral statement, bearing the Harapan logo, which stated among others that the coalition continues to support the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its chairperson, along with the leaders of the component parties and fully backs the mission to rebuild the country from a kleptocracy.

The viral statement stated that it was issued by Harapan secretariat chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah; Saifuddin Nasution; Bersatu secretary-general Marzuki Yahya; Amanah secretary-general Anuar Tahir and DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke.

The statement is purported to have been issued in the wake of an interview Nurul, a former PKR vice-president, gave to The Straits Times of Singapore in which she is alleged to have spoken of “turbulence and chaos” in the political developments in Malaysia over the past year and allegedly expressed disappointment over the admission of former Umno members into Harapan.

Saifuddin Nasution said he would have to seek clarification from Nurul before making any comment on the matter.

On another matter, he said he respected Nurul’s stand that the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should be an opposition MP.

Nurul resigned as a member of the PAC as Ronald Kiandee, a former Umno MP, continued to remain as the chairman of the PAC after joining Bersatu.

- Bernama