Tun Faisal rejects Hadi’s claims that Bersatu blocked other parties' participation in PN

 

A Bersatu leader has accused PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang of making inaccurate claims about Perikatan Nasional’s stance on cooperation with other political parties.

Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said Hadi’s allegation that Bersatu had weakened PAS’ role within PN and blocked the participation of other parties in the coalition was “simply not true”.

“How can PAS claim its role was weakened when it holds the positions of PN chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary-general, treasurer, information chief, and youth chief?” he said in a statement today.

Tun Faisal (above) also took aim at PN chairperson Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, arguing that many internal issues remained unresolved under the PAS vice-president’s leadership.

According to him, delays in convening meetings, making decisions, and implementing resolutions reflected weaknesses in leadership rather than any attempt by Bersatu to sideline PAS.

He further argued that Samsuri’s effectiveness was constrained because key decisions ultimately required the approval of Hadi and PAS’ syura council.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang

“As PN chairperson, he has no executive authority to act independently. That is what makes the position weak, not Bersatu,” Tun Faisal said.

Yesterday, Hadi launched a broadside against Bersatu, listing a series of grievances he said justified PAS’ decision to sever ties with its PN component partner.

The Marang MP also accused Bersatu of straying from the coalition’s original purpose of uniting the ummah (Muslim community) and instead seeking to dominate most Muslims along with non-Muslim parties.

“Suddenly, Bersatu attempted to weaken PAS’ role in exploring political change and sought to make PAS appear foolish by preventing the participation of more parties, especially Malay-Muslim parties such as Berjasa, Pejuang, the Malaysian National Muslim Indian Alliance Party (Iman), Putra, as well as MIC, a non-Muslim party that is not extremist,” Hadi claimed.

Tun Faisal, meanwhile, criticised what he described as attempts to impose PAS’ internal decision-making structure on PN.

He claimed decisions reached by consensus at PN supreme council meetings could still be overturned by Hadi, despite the PAS president not being a member of the council.

Perikatan Nasional leaders and supporters in November 2025

“Who weakened PAS leaders in the PN supreme council? It was Hadi, not Bersatu,” he added.

Electoral pact dispute

Tun Faisal also rejected Hadi’s claim that Bersatu had prevented other Malay-Muslim parties from joining PN.

He said the coalition’s supreme council had agreed to pursue electoral pacts with non-member parties seeking cooperation with PN, rather than immediately admitting them as component parties.

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According to him, disagreements over seat allocations - particularly involving Pejuang - stemmed from PAS leaders who were unwilling to allocate seats in states under their control.

“It was not Bersatu leaders who objected to Pejuang contesting in their states. That position came from PAS leaders,” he claimed.

Tun Faisal pointed to previous remarks by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man rejecting proposals to expand cooperation with parties under Ikatan Prihatin Rakyat (IPR), arguing that they contradicted PN’s own decision to explore electoral pacts with like-minded parties.

He noted that PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan had previously said the coalition was open to electoral cooperation with parties that shared its principles and vision.

An Ikatan Prihatin Rakyat meeting in October 2025

MIC issue

Referring to Hadi’s remarks on MIC, Tun Faisal said Bersatu had consistently adopted an inclusive approach towards cooperation with other parties.

He noted that MIC had previously been part of PN before withdrawing following criticism from Umno and BN leaders.

Tun Faisal also cited MIC president SA Vigneswaran’s statement that the BN component party’s earlier application to join PN was made when Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin led the coalition.

“When Muhyiddin proposed Perikatan Nasional, he invited other parties, including MIC, to participate. The same inclusive approach was taken when he proposed the formation of IPR,” he said.

Questioning Hadi’s criticism, Tun Faisal asked whether PAS had ever demonstrated a similar level of openness throughout its history.

Muhyiddin initiated IPR in 2025 as a loose political coalition to bring together smaller opposition parties and civil society groups that were not members of PN but shared common concerns about governance, the economy, and national issues. - FMT