Samsuri denies any hand in ‘Bangkok Move’ meeting

 PAS vice-president Samsuri Mokhtar urges parties to stop linking him to reported talks on political realignment.

PAS vice-president Samsuri Mokhtar, who is the current PN chairman, said “any meetings or discussions associated with the matter did not involve me and have no connection to me”. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has denied being involved in any meeting in Bangkok linked to an alleged political move to reshape the country’s leadership.

In a Facebook post today, Samsuri, who is Perikatan Nasional chairman, said he had no connection to the meeting that some parties had referred to as the “Bangkok Move”.

“Any meetings or discussions associated with the matter did not involve me and have no connection to me,” he said, and urged all parties to refrain from speculating or linking his name to matters that did not occur.

His denial comes amid claims of a meeting in Bangkok involving several political figures to discuss possible cooperation among Malay-Muslim parties.

Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed earlier today that he had met opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin in Bangkok last year to discuss the issue of Malay and Muslim unity.

Zahid said the meeting took place during a working visit to Thailand and stressed that there had been no recent meetings with Hamzah, the former Bersatu deputy president.

Sources quoted in media reports had claimed that Samsuri and PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan were also present during the discussions.

The reports surfaced amid a dispute within Bersatu after its president Muhyiddin Yassin accused Hamzah of engaging in secret negotiations with Zahid to form a new political configuration.

Muhyiddin had alleged that the talks were part of efforts to restructure the government and had cited them as a reason for Hamzah’s dismissal from the party last month.

Hamzah has rejected the accusations, saying he was free to meet anyone in his capacity as opposition leader and describing claims of betrayal as “childish”. - FMT