Chairmanship aside, bigger Bersatu-PAS battle brewing, say analysts

 Muhyiddin Yassin will push to empower the PN presidential council, but admission of bloc loyal to Hamzah Zainudin could be another cause of contention.

Analysts say Muhyiddin Yassin is seeking to curtail new PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar’s powers and contain the growing faction led by Hamzah Zainudin.

PETALING JAYA:

 Two political analysts expect the rift between Bersatu and PAS to persist despite the Perikatan Nasional components agreeing to the appointment of PAS vice-president, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, as the opposition coalition’s new chairman.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was likely to continue his push for PN’s presidential council to sit above the Supreme Council and call the shots in the coalition.

“This proposal by Muhyiddin, to give more power to the presidential council, has a very direct intention. There’s nothing implicit about it; it’s to curtail the power of the PN chairman, who is Samsuri right now.

“In the presidential council, Muhyiddin has allies in Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), whereas PAS is all alone. Now with PAS controlling the PN chairmanship, they need some sort of strategy to curtail PAS’s power.

Azmi Hassan.

“One thing for sure is that the squabble between Bersatu and PAS is far from over even though the new PN chairman has been determined,” he told FMT.

Azmi said it would be interesting to see how Samsuri navigates this situation, and whether he would allow the presidential council to override his authority.

Following the announcement of Samsuri’s appointment on Sunday, PN deputy secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the coalition’s Supreme Council also agreed in principle to review and strengthen its presidential council’s functions.

This would require revisions to the PN constitution, which Samsuri will be expected to undertake as the coalition’s new chairman.

Previously, Muhyiddin claimed PAS had agreed to make the presidential council the highest decision-making body in PN, with an executive council led by PAS to handle administrative aspects.

PAS denied the claim, saying the matter was never discussed, fuelling an already public spat involving leaders of both components.

A bigger battle brewing over Hamzah

James Chin.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said a bigger battle was brewing in PN over the fate of opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin following his sacking from Bersatu on Feb 13.

With Hamzah and several other former Bersatu MPs and leaders expected to soon form a new party, Chin said their next move would be to seek membership in PN.

“The next big battle is not about the presidential council’s power but whether Bersatu has the political strength to stop Hamzah from being admitted into PN,” he said.

Hamzah has close ties with several PAS leaders, which he flaunted by sharing a photo of him having tea with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Takiyuddin and Samsuri, hours after his expulsion from Bersatu.

Hamzah and the 18 MPs aligned with him have also publicly stated support for Samsuri’s leadership of PN.

Chin said Muhyiddin’s presidential council idea was “dead in the water” as there was no way PAS would give up executive control of the coalition having just got hold of it.

He added that Bersatu now needs PAS more than ever, as Hamzah commands the support of more than half of Bersatu’s remaining 19 MPs following several recent sackings.

“Even the smaller parties in PN understand that there’s no way to push PAS out. PAS will be calling the shots, and that’s the end of the story.”

Hamzah claims to have the backing of 18 MPs — 13 still with Bersatu and five recently sacked by the party.

That would leave former prime minister Muhyiddin leading a faction comprising six MPs. - FMT