While Hadi no longer sits on the PN Supreme Council, the analysts said he remains president of PN’s largest component party, which over the years has established party discipline that is rarely broken.
Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar is also a trusted lieutenant of Hadi’s, having served as the seven-term Marang MP’s political secretary from 2008 to 2018.
Hadi holds undeniable influence over PN, and handling this public perception is the coalition’s real challenge, Syaza said.
“Hadi has a right to speak up, but decisions (by the PN Supreme Council) should be considered final. Otherwise, PN will be perceived as not having its own stand or strong leadership,” she told FMT.
Last week, Hadi announced that PAS was reassessing its ties with Bersatu with a view of possibly contesting the next general election (GE16) without the Muhyiddin Yassin-led party.
He cited several issues that strained relations, including the change of Perlis menteri besar and Bersatu’s opposition to admitting new Malay-Muslim parties into PN, warning that “patience has its limits”.
This came several days after the PN Supreme Council met and announced that it would form electoral pacts with like-minded external parties for GE16 instead of admitting new components.
This was reportedly due to Bersatu’s fears that one of the parties that applied to join PN, which include Mukhriz Mahathir’s Pejuang, Ibrahim Ali’s Putra, and Berjasa, would soon be taken over by former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin.
Bersatu expressed regret over Hadi’s remarks, saying he should have aired them internally within the PN Supreme Council.
PN won 74 seats in the 2022 general election, 43 of which were secured by PAS – the most by a single party. Bersatu won 31, but has been left with 19 following a series of defections and the purging of Muhyiddin’s opponents, including Hamzah.
PAS’s culture of loyalty
Global Asia Consulting’s Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri said PAS’s strong culture of loyalty (wala’) was what enabled it to stand the test of time, even thriving despite the departure of several senior leaders who went on to form Amanah.
He said loyalty is built into the party’s struggle, and that this is the norm for most parties established based on religious-centric ideologies.
He said this is why Hadi essentially has the final say in a PAS-led coalition not directly headed by him.
“PAS adapted this principle in Malaysia’s context, whereby the leadership’s decision isn’t merely a suggestion but the guiding principles of the party’s struggle. This is what makes PAS more organised and stable.
“Compared with Umno and Bersatu, which often grapple with compromises and internal divisions, PAS stands out in that its collective discipline rarely wavers,” Zaharuddin said.
“Loyalty to its leader is the soul of its struggle.”