Azmin disappointed Muhyiddin kept Bersatu leaders in dark about quit plan

 

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had not consulted party leaders about his plan to resign as chairperson of Perikatan Nasional, according to Azmin Ali.

The Bersatu secretary-general said he was also disappointed at being kept in the dark, especially since the party leadership had to field questions from the media and the public.

“We are managing a coalition, not just a single party. Even managing a small branch is already quite challenging, let alone managing parties with four different ideologies and backgrounds,” he told the Chinese-language news publication Oriental Daily.

On the same note, Azmin (above, right) pointed out that Muhyiddin had been successful in leading PN for the past five years.

“Since its formation, he has been the chairperson and has successfully united various forces under the PN banner.

“We also want to give other partners a chance. But when he (Muhyiddin) announced his decision in London on his own, he did not consult us beforehand.

“As secretary-general, I received no communication. So, we were somewhat disappointed at the time because we had to face the media and the public asking, ‘What happened?’” he added.

However, Azmin said after Muhyiddin returned from London, a discussion took place in which he explained his reasons for relinquishing the post.

“We understand he had full reasons to allow other partners to take the lead, and we respect that,” he added.

Azmin stressed that Muhyiddin’s resignation is not a crisis, but part of PN’s succession planning.

He said that as of now, Muhyiddin remains the PN chairperson because the resignation process has not yet been completed.

“We also mustfollow the party constitution. According to Article 8.3, Clause 1b of the PN constitution, the chairperson’s resignation must be approved by the supreme council before it takes effect.

“Therefore, as of now, he is still the PN chairperson. It is not because he wants to retract his resignation, but because the process is not yet complete,” he added.

PN chair candidate

Last week, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said his party already has a candidate in mind for the next PN chairperson but noted that the supreme council would make the final decision in line with the coalition’s constitution.

“The candidate is a senior PAS leader and an MP,” he said.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan

Takiyuddin added that the coalition plans to hold a supreme council meeting soon, with all four presidents of PN’s component parties in attendance, to discuss the appointment of the new chairperson.

Takiyuddin, who also serves as PN deputy secretary-general, said invitation letters had been sent to the component party presidents to schedule the meeting, which is expected to take place after Feb 20.

Previously, Muhyiddin’s former principal private secretary Marzuki Mohamad noted that Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) were opposed to a PAS leader assuming the PN top post. - Mkini