PAS will likely lead Perikatan Nasional following the exit of top office holders today, who were from the component party Bersatu.
In dismissing talk that the opposition coalition was on the verge of collapse due to the resignations, a Bersatu source said PN will undergo a change in leadership.
“Who says PN will die? PAS will lead PN,” said a Bersatu leader who declined to be quoted.
PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin and a slew of Bersatu officials had quit their posts in PN’s supreme council today. Bersatu, along with PAS and Gerakan, are part of the coalition.
Muhyiddin, along with PN secretary-general Azmin Ali, had announced their resignations a few days after the Perlis crisis, which saw the downfall of menteri besar Shukri Ramli from PAS.
The Islamist party had accused Bersatu of staging Shukri’s removal and the appointment of Bersatu’s Abu Bakar Hamzah as the new menteri besar.
To make clear its protest, PAS said its assemblypersons will not accept executive councillor posts in the new state government.
A day before the resignations, PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Azamudden had implored his party’s leadership to take over PN from a “weak friend” - a veiled reference to Bersatu.
“A friend who cannot control their subordinates is a weak friend. A friend who topples their friends is a treacherous friend,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“After what happened in Perlis, PAS is highly qualified to take over the PN leadership. PAS (should) take over PN.”
Coalition’s supreme council to decide
Meanwhile, Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, said the final decision on who will fill the vacancies, including the PN chair, will be made by the coalition’s supreme council.
He also refuted suggestions that the Perlis crisis and the resignations would ruin PN.
“PN still exists, why should it die? Bersatu is still a component of PN, and as of now, there is no change in policy,” Tun Faisal said when contacted.
“Questions as to who is the chairperson will be brought to the PN supreme council to be decided.”
Tun Faisal also defended Muhyiddin’s decision to resign, saying the Bersatu president was not after any positions in PN.
He claimed that after the 15th general election, Muhyiddin suggested that PAS take over the top post in the coalition, but the latter declined.
PAS had also declined the post of parliamentary opposition leader, he said.
“That is how (Bersatu deputy president) Hamzah Zainudin’s name was proposed, and this was agreed by (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang and other leaders. This shows that Muhyiddin is not after posts and is open (to ideas).” - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.