KUALA LUMPUR – Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi has backed the call made by PAS spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin for the Islamic party to lead Perikatan Nasional (PN), but insisted that the party needs to look for a young, fresh poster boy for the coalition.
Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia reported Hashim as asserting that PAS is better qualified to lead the opposition coalition, challenging the notion that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin should remain as the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate.
Hashim also cited the party’s larger parliamentary representation and stronger grassroots network nationwide as key reasons for its leadership aspirations.
PAS has 43 seats in Dewan Rakyat, 18 seats more than the 25 held by Bersatu.
In a Facebook post, Puad said that Hashim is right to suggest that PAS is more qualified to lead PN than Bersatu. This is as the party leads four states – Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis – from where it can create its “poster boy” to lead the coalition.
“It is just that the existing four Menteris Besar are not outstanding, and there are zero “game changers” in these four states.
“Therefore, PAS needs to look out for a new, young leader that has the “package” needed to be the poster boy,” added Puad, who is also the Rengit assemblyman.
Puad’s comments on the lack of a poster boy from PAS came despite the fact that the Terengganu Menteri Besar and Kemaman MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri bin Mokhtar had been long touted as the PM candidate for the Islamic party.
Hashim’s remarks followed recent comments by Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who insisted that Muhyiddin was the sole candidate for the prime minister’s position in the opposition.
However, Hashim also said that Bersatu could not sideline PAS by deciding on such an important position without consultation and mutual agreement.
He also reportedly said that if PN wins GE16, leadership decisions must be based on the coalition’s current realities and the strengths of each party.
Hashim also said that PAS’s history of no party-hopping and lack of hunger for power also bolstered its claim to leadership.
For the record, Bersatu had lost six MPs and a Selangor assemblyman through defections to the unity governments in both Putrajaya and Selangor.
The party has since filed a lawsuit in Kuala Lumpur High Court on November 18 against Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul over his refusal to declare the parliamentary seats held by five of its former MPs vacant when requested by the party.
The lawsuit also named five of the six defectors as co-defendants – Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli) and Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar).
The suit, however, spared Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman. – November 23, 2024