Bersatu remains firm that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman must be the president of a coalition component, according to its information chief, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.
Tun Faisal rejected claims by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had agreed to let the Islamic party assume leadership of PN.
“Based on my checks, Bersatu’s position, confirmed at our Supreme Council meeting on Jan 12, stands: we will only accept a party president as PN chairman,” he told FMT.
He added that discussions between Muhyiddin and the leaders of the other three PN components are still being considered. Tun Faisal referenced Muhyiddin’s Jan 16 meeting with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, as well as a “pre-council” meeting with Gerakan and Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) leaders last week. Hadi did not attend last week’s gathering due to a last-minute schedule change.
Earlier, Tuan Ibrahim had claimed that Muhyiddin agreed unconditionally to PAS taking over the PN leadership. He also said the party had not made the matter public earlier out of respect for Muhyiddin, whose resignation as PN chairman on Jan 1 requires confirmation from the Supreme Council.
The PN chairman’s position has remained vacant since Jan 1. A Supreme Council meeting to confirm Muhyiddin’s resignation and appoint a successor was initially scheduled for Jan 29 but was cancelled after Muhyiddin opted to hold the “pre-council” meeting with PAS, Gerakan, and MIPP leaders. Reports indicate that Gerakan and MIPP oppose PAS taking the coalition helm due to its hardline image.
