Looks like Hadi has veto powers in PN, says Bersatu leader

 Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz says PAS's actions have only proven Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi right, that the Islamic party is two-faced.

Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said PAS’s decision to reappoint Hamzah Zainudin as the opposition leader makes it seem as though PN has adopted a ‘dictatorial clerical system’. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Bersatu has taken a dig at PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang after he announced that Larut MP Hamzah Zainudin would be reappointed as the opposition leader, despite Perikatan Nasional chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar replacing Hamzah in the position last month.

Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said Hadi had clearly vetoed the PN Supreme Council’s decision on May 16 to name Samsuri as the opposition leader to replace Hamzah.

Tun Faisal pointed out that PAS had other representatives in the PN Supreme Council, including the coalition’s deputy chairman, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, treasurer Sanusi Nor, and youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamuddeen.

“Although the decision to appoint Samsuri as the opposition leader was made by the PN Supreme Council, which had all these PAS leaders, the PAS president, who isn’t even a member of the council, is apparently capable of overriding the decision.

“It’s as though PN has adopted a ‘mullah’ (dictatorial clerical) system,” he told FMT.

Hadi is not a member of the PN Supreme Council having decided not to stay on as a deputy chairman. He previously said he would  represent PAS in the PN presidential council instead.

Samsuri, a PAS vice-president, took over as the opposition leader last month after Hamzah stepped down from the post in April.

However, he has yet to officially begin his parliamentary duties as the opposition leader, as the Dewan Rakyat only reconvenes on June 22.

At the Reset convention earlier today, Hadi announced that Hamzah would return as the opposition leader, saying the majority of opposition MPs wanted the former Bersatu deputy president to lead the bloc in Parliament.

He said Hamzah had the backing of PAS’s MPs as well as former and current Bersatu MPs aligned with him.

There are currently 69 opposition MPs in the Dewan Rakyat – 43  from PAS, 19 from Bersatu, one from Muda, and six independents.

The six independent MPs, including Hamzah, had been sacked from Bersatu over the past year, while 13 of Bersatu’s MPs have openly backed Hamzah.

Tun Faisal said PAS’s actions had proven Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi right, recounting a statement Zahid had made in May 2022 when PAS, Bersatu and Umno were still partners in Putrajaya.

“Zahid had said that PAS was two-faced, saying one thing in the day and another thing in the night. So, we had expected the PAS president to U-turn and override the PN Supreme Council’s decision,” he said.

PAS ended its political cooperation with Bersatu on Monday, but both parties remain components of PN.

Hadi had said PAS could not boot Bersatu out of PN unilaterally and that this needed to be decided by the majority of the component parties.

The other two PN members are Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party. - FMT