Azmi Hassan says the former menteri besar helped secure many votes in the last state election.
Azmi Hassan said Azmin’s experience as Selangor menteri besar helped PN secure many votes in the last state election, where the coalition managed to deny the Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Harapan alliance a two-thirds majority.
Azmin served as Selangor’s 15th menteri besar from 2014 to 2018.
Azmi said allowing PAS to take the reins could alienate non-Malay voters.
“To wrest control of Selangor, PN needs the non-Malay votes. PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar must reappoint Azmin as the Selangor PN chairman,” the National Council of Professors fellow told FMT.
On Monday, PAS treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad suggested that Selangor PAS commissioner Ab Halim Tamuri be made the coalition’s chairman in the state.
The post has been vacant since Azmin resigned on Dec 30, following Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to step down as PN chairman.
Iskandar said Halim would be able to woo the conservative Malay-Muslim electorate, and that the latter’s background as an academic and a religious figure was an asset.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia disagreed with Azmi.
He said PAS’s claim to the Selangor PN chairmanship made sense in the context of current sentiments.
He also said that the Islamic party’s prominence in the state had increased significantly since 1998.
“PAS has a strong machinery that is unmatched. It holds a lot of influence in rural areas and suburbs like Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam through consistent Malay-Muslim narratives,” he said.
He added that Bersatu should make way for PAS to take the lead in Selangor and ensure that PN remains relevant in the state.
Mazlan also said the time was ripe for PAS to take over the leadership in the state, citing the turmoil in Bersatu which has seen the sacking of several prominent figures. - FMT
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