WILL THE OPPOSITION STAND BEHIND DR SAM?
For all the symbolism surrounding Ahmad Samsuri’s elevation, the key question is whether he can consolidate authority within the coalition and expand PN’s electoral map.
PN has long struggled to win over non-Malay and urban voters, largely due to its conservative positions on gender roles, LGBTQ issues, alcohol and gambling, as well as its longstanding push for hudud, or Islamic criminal law.
The coalition’s ideological posture has entrenched scepticism among minority communities, especially since PAS remains the largest individual party with 43 seats in Parliament’s lower house of 222 members.
Post-GE15 analyses by think tanks such as Ilham Center and Merdeka Center show that support for PN among Chinese and Indian voters hovered in the single digits to low teens. In contrast, backing among Malay-Muslims stood at roughly 60 to 70 per cent nationwide.
That disparity has shaped PN’s post-election calculus. The coalition’s leadership broadly recognises that without inroads into constituencies with sizable non-Malay voters, its path to forming the next federal government remains narrow.
Against this backdrop, some analysts view Ahmad Samsuri’s rise in the coalition leadership ranks as a strategic recalibration.
Unlike several PAS leaders known for combative ethno-religious rhetoric, the Terengganu chief minister has cultivated a more technocratic and policy-focused image. He has spoken assertively on fiscal federalism, publicly arguing that Terengganu deserves greater petroleum royalty allocations from Putrajaya, positioning himself as a state advocate.
“The best choice (for a prime ministerial candidate from PAS) is therefore Dr Samsuri, who is a technocratic figure acceptable to various demographics,” said Yusri Ibrahim, a lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
Machang Member of Parliament Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who was recently sacked from Bersatu, told CNA that Ahmad Samsuri is a “credible choice” to head the coalition and expressed confidence he would unify component parties.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal is one of 19 MPs who are said to be aligned to Hamzah. The group issued a statement on Sunday in support of Ahmad Samsuri’s appointment.
“He’s the vice president of PAS, his stature as chief minister of Terengganu and coming from a technocrat background would help to consolidate Perikatan Nasional in facing voters in the upcoming General Election,” the former deputy minister of youth and sports told CNA.
Yet, optics alone may not be enough.
Political observers caution that Ahmad Samsuri lacks the national stature and negotiating weight of figures such as Muhyiddin and Hamzah. Hamzah, a former home affairs minister, is currently the opposition leader in Parliament though he remains coy about the status of the position following his ousting from Bersatu.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-pn-perikatan-nasional-pn-chairman-ahmad-samsuri-mokhtar-muhyiddin-yassin-5949071
