Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said Muhyiddin’s claim that PAS and Bersatu had agreed to abolish the PN chairmanship – which PAS has denied – demonstrated his desperation to continue leading PN, one way or another.
She said Muhyiddin’s push to lead the PN presidential council, and for it to supersede the Supreme Council in executive decisions, was “fishy” as he had relinquished the coalition’s chairmanship on Jan 1.
“It looks like he was just devising ways for himself (to remain at the helm of PN) without proper discussions and the agreement of the other parties,” she told FMT.
While the revelation that PAS had not agreed to abolishing the PN chairmanship made Muhyiddin look bad, she said the former prime minister could be expected to double down on his push to retain leadership of the opposition coalition.
She said this was especially significant ahead of the 16th general election (GE16), where the leader of PN will sign off on the watikah or appointment letter of candidates.
“Calls for Muhyiddin to step aside have been a recurring theme over the past year, but he has not. I think he will use his position as Bersatu president to argue that he’s higher in the pecking order than (PAS’s candidate for the PN chairmanship).
“Or, he will say the majority of PN party presidents are with him. Whatever it is, I don’t see him stepping away yet.”
Syaza said that when faced with such pressure, PAS could be expected to back down. She said PAS would have replaced Muhyiddin much earlier if it could, and that its failure to do so showed that the Islamic party was also unsure of how to navigate the situation.
However, she did not expect PAS to be pushed into leaving PN as a whole or the possible revival of its Muafakat Nasional (MN) pact with Umno, which became defunct after the party formed PN with Bersatu.
“An MN revival has never been a serious possibility, especially on Umno’s side. I think PAS is just pushed into a corner right now.”
Muhyiddin claimed yesterday that Bersatu and PAS had agreed to abolish the PN chairman’s post as part of the coalition’s restructuring during a meeting at his home more than a week ago.
The former prime minister said they also agreed that the presidential council headed by Bersatu would be the highest decision-making body in PN, while an executive council led by PAS would handle the administrative aspects.
However, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man denied Muhyiddin’s claim, saying the matter was not even discussed during the meeting on Jan 16.
In a separate letter sighted by FMT, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the party’s stand was that the presidential council would be only an advisory body, with the Supreme Council to remain as the coalition’s executive decision-maker.
Muhyiddin more out of touch than desperate
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Muhyiddin appeared more out of touch about the sentiments of PN leaders and grassroots than desperate to cling on to the coalition’s leadership.
“It’s not so much a leader desperate for his position, but rather a failure to grasp the details and essence of the serious discussion that took place. This has strengthened pressure from PAS’s auxiliary leaders who would be happy to see Muhyiddin go,” he said.
Fauzi said the latest debacle in the PN chairmanship crisis would only buttress his rivals’ arguments that Muhyiddin should no longer lead the coalition.
He did not expect PAS to ditch PN either, saying Umno was unlikely to exit its alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in GE16.
“With Ahmad Zahid Hamidi maintaining his Umno presidency and Anwar Ibrahim continuing to helm PH, I believe the time is not yet ripe for PAS to just leave PN, as the BN-PH partnership is likely to continue into GE16.”