Muhyiddin ‘rightful’ opposition leader, not Hadi, say analysts

 

Two analysts say PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (right) does not have the ‘acumen’ to be the opposition leader compared with Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.

PETALING JAYA: Two analysts say Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin is more suited to be the opposition leader in the Dewan Rakyat, not PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

This comes after Terengganu Amanah Youth chief Zamir Ghazali proposed that Hadi be appointed the opposition leader because PAS, a PN component party, won more seats in the general election.

The Islamic party secured 49 of the 73 seats won by PN, with the Muhyiddin-led Bersatu winning the rest.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said this went against the conventions of the Westminster system while Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Hadi did not have the “acumen” to be the leader of the opposition.

Chin said the convention states that the opposition leader is an MP who leads the largest coalition of parties that is not in government.

“Unless PN nominates Hadi, the rightful leader of the opposition is Muhyiddin,” he told FMT.

He said Zamri’s logic that the party with more seats should be the opposition leader was flawed.

“In that case, DAP’s leader should become the prime minister since it won the largest number of seats in Pakatan Harapan,” he said, adding that this suggestion should not be taken too seriously as Zamri was probably just baiting PAS members to challenge Muhyiddin.

Chin also said he doubted that Hadi, the Marang MP, wanted to become, or could handle being, the opposition leader because of his health issues.

“Also, when he was appointed a special envoy to the Middle East under former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s  administration, he hardly did any work at all,” he said.

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Azmi shared similar sentiments, calling Hadi’s term as a special envoy unspectacular.

He said certain qualities were needed to be the leader of the opposition, including being articulate and putting out arguments that made sense.

“He also doesn’t have the experience that the former prime minister (Muhyiddin) has. For the opposition, you need a leader who has (political) acumen,” he said.

On Nov 26, Muhyiddin said PN would function as a check-and-balance to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration by being in the opposition rather than joining the unity government. - FMT