KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition pact Perikatan Nasional (PN) has plunged into further disarray after coalition partner Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS) denied agreeing to the suggestion to abolish the chairman post, directly contradicting a claim made by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin just a day earlier.
In a letter dated Wednesday (Jan 28) that was addressed to the coalition’s three other partners, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said that while it agreed to the formation of a presidential council that would function as the pact’s supervisory body, the issue of abolishing the chairman’s post was not discussed during their meeting on Jan 16.
The post was previously held by Muhyiddin, who had announced his resignation effective Jan 1. Whoever assumes the PN chairman post would effectively be the bloc’s prime minister candidate going into the next general election that must be held by early 2028.
“With regard to the statement by Muhyiddin stating, ‘with the restructuring of PN, the position of PN chairperson is abolished and the matter of appointing a PN chairperson no longer arises’, I wish to stress that this issue was never discussed or agreed to by our side, including during the meeting on Jan 16,” said Hadi in the letter that was sighted by CNA.
Hadi stressed that the Islamist party was of the opinion that the chairman’s post must remain and not be abolished.
The content of the letter has since been reported by Malaysian news outlets. CNA has contacted PAS for further comment.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-perikatan-nasional-pn-pas-bersatu-abdul-hadi-awang-5892816
