PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has claimed that the party was once offered assistance by a foreign power to topple the government and take over the administration.
Hadi said the alleged offer was made during former United States president Barack Obama’s visit to Malaysia in 2014, when several PAS leaders were invited to a meeting at the US embassy.
He said then PAS assistant secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was serving as his political secretary at the time, attended the meeting.
“I want to share this. When Obama came to Malaysia, we were still in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition with the other parties, and we were invited to meet at the US embassy.
“They wanted to discuss it and were prepared to help topple the government and take over the government,” he said during his winding-up speech at the 72nd PAS muktamar at the Pusat Tarbiah Islamiah Kelantan today.
Hadi said the two PAS leaders rejected the alleged offer and refused to be influenced by it.
He added that the US ambassador later requested a separate meeting with him, which he attended alongside then PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali.
According to Hadi, the ambassador asked who PAS intended to nominate as prime minister.
“I said, ‘Who does America agree with?’ He was stunned. That was my answer,” Hadi said.
He added that he later informed former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad about the meeting, claiming Mahathir responded positively to his stance.
Barisan Nasional was eventually defeated at the 14th general election in 2018, with the campaign heavily influenced by the 1MDB scandal and allegations of corruption involving then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Pakatan Harapan, led by Mahathir at the time, won the election, with Mahathir subsequently sworn in as prime minister.
Separately, Takiyuddin confirmed that he had attended the meeting at the US embassy, saying PAS had rejected any form of foreign interference in Malaysia’s political affairs.
“The embassy representative asked whether PAS was planning to topple the Barisan Nasional government at the time. We did not give any decision because we did not want interference from foreign countries.
“There can be no foreign interference. If other parties want foreign interference to topple the government, that is up to them. We do not, we do not,” he said.
