Samsuri also said he is open to collaborating with Amanah as part of efforts to unite the Malay parties. However, he did not explicitly mention their inclusion in MN.

“The Muslim or Malay-based parties should come together. Coming together can mean different things.

“Coming together doesn’t necessarily mean we merge into one party. That’s not necessarily the case. But what’s important is that we work together through alignment or by cooperating,” he said in the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

Samsuri, who is also the Terengganu menteri besar, said flexibility is important as, in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends.

“What’s important is that we make decisions based on what is right, not sentiments. So, for me, what is right should include Amanah, Umno and others.”

Samsuri was responding to former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s question about the possibility of PAS and Amanah collaborating in the future.

Amanah is a splinter party which broke away from PAS in 2015 following the latter’s departure from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

On Dec 22, 2023, Amanah vice-president Adly Zahari said the party did not view PAS as an enemy and would welcome its participation in the unity government.

However, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin later dismissed the idea, saying Amanah must sever ties with DAP if it was genuinely interested in a collaboration.

Separately, Samsuri said it was not up to him to decide whether he should be the party’s prime ministerial candidate in the next general election.

“If it’s directed by the party and the ‘bigger voice’ says so, wallahualam (only God knows best),” said the Kemaman MP.