Ahmad Samsuri’s PN chairman role does not make him opposition coalition’s prime ministerial pick: Muhyiddin

Ahmad Samsuri’s PN chairman role does not make him opposition coalition’s prime ministerial pick: Muhyiddin

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin also said he will oppose all efforts for his former Bersatu deputy, Hamzah Zainudin, to rejoin Perikatan Nasional (PN) under a new party.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar may be the new chairman of Malaysia’s opposition coalition, but that does not mean he would be its pick for prime minister, according to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin.

“(The issue of the candidacy) has not yet been discussed … This is an appointment to the chairmanship, not for the choice of prime minister,” Muhyiddin who was the country’s eighth prime minister, said on Wednesday (Mar 4), as quoted by local media.

He said that he was echoing the words of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Ahmad Samsuri, who is the vice-president of PAS, succeeded Muhyiddin on Feb 22 as the opposition coalition’s new chairman, after the latter quit the role on Jan 1.

Muhyiddin said that PAS leadership had said earlier that he was not the prime minister candidate and that they did not want to discuss the topic yet.

“I think that position still stands,” he told selected media in a press conference on Monday.

Separately, Muhyiddin also said he will oppose all efforts for former Bersatu deputy president, Hamzah Zainudin, who is opposition leader, to rejoin PN under a new party.

“If he wants to enter PN, I will say no because once bitten, twice shy. After all that he has done, he wants to rejoin the coalition?” he said.

Muhyiddin also expressed confidence that the majority of PN’s four components – Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party – would not accept Hamzah joining the coalition under a new entity.

Hamzah confirmed on Tuesday that discussions were underway for him to take over Parti Keluarga Malaysia, after he was sacked from Bersatu last month amid a leadership tussle with Muhyiddin.

Founder of Parti Keluarga Malaysia, Khairi Jaya, said that the takeover was “90 per cent confirmed”.

Hamzah, who was former minister of home affairs, was sacked from Bersatu after allegedly breaching the party’s constitution, according to a letter dated Feb 13 that circulated on messaging platforms.

Muhyiddin said he had confronted Hamzah about alleged moves to oust him as Bersatu president but Hamzah denied those claims.

“I don’t trust that name (Hamzah) anymore, I’m sorry,” said Muhyiddin, as quoted in local media.

“How many members have actually left to follow Hamzah? Are they in the hundreds of thousands? How many division leaders have left?” he said, adding that Bersatu remains “relatively strong” after its “clean-up”.

“Not all MPs and assemblymen (are aligned with Hamzah)… the rest remain solid (with the party).”

Hamzah remains opposition leader despite Bersatu’s protests, with the PN Supreme Council set to meet on Mar 14 morning to discuss the coalition’s new opposition leader to succeed Hamzah.

Hamzah has the backing of 13 Bersatu parliamentary members to remain in the post, as well as five others who have been sacked from the party.

The opposition leader’s sacking came shortly after another senior party member’s expulsion on Jan 6.

Saifuddin Abdullah, a former foreign affairs minister, had led 15 other MPs in writing a letter appealing the party sanctions against members who were pushing for Hamzah to take over as president from Muhyiddin Yassin.

Saifuddin and several Bersatu members were later sacked, some who were previously suspended from the party.

In his latest remarks on Monday, Muhyiddin reiterated that he had no plans to lead Bersatu forever and he was ready to pass the mantle to the next generations of leaders soon, reported local news outlet Free Malaysia Today.

He pointed to the likes of Bersatu vice-presidents Radzi Jidin and Ahmad Faizal Azumu, secretary general Azmin Ali, and youth chief Hilman Idham as next in line to be at the forefront of the party’s leadership.

“The party decided to keep me as president (in 2024) for three years. There’s about two years left. When the time comes, I will hand over the post,” said Muhyiddin, who is now PN deputy chairman having led it previously since August 2020.

“But politics is not so simple. There are preparations and steps we must take to ensure that the party is strong enough before a leader leaves. I will get there not long from now.”