Bersatu leader revives call for PN presidential council amid tensions

PETALING JAYA: A Bersatu leader has revived calls for the establishment of Perikatan Nasional’s presidential council after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said his party would review its ties with Bersatu, sparking renewed tensions within the coalition.

Bersatu Supreme Council member and Taman Medan assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin said the proposed council could serve as an additional platform, alongside the coalition’s Supreme Council, to discuss and resolve issues internally.

“The establishment of the PN presidential council should be expedited,” he told FMT.

In January, a Bersatu source said PAS and Bersatu leaders had agreed for Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin to chair the council, while PAS leaders would assume administrative roles.

The proposal emerged after Muhyiddin stepped down as PN chairman and was succeeded by PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar after the Perlis crisis saw Bersatu take over the state’s administration from PAS.

Besides Hadi and Muhyiddin, the presidential council is expected to be joined by Gerakan president Dominic Lau and Malaysian Indian People’s Party president P Punithan.

Last Friday, Hadi warned Bersatu that PAS’s patience has “limits”, citing actions by Bersatu that he said had strained ties within PN, including developments in the Perlis and Negeri Sembilan political disputes.

The Marang MP also accused Bersatu of blocking efforts to bring Malay-Muslim parties into PN after the coalition’s Supreme Council meeting on May 16 failed to decide on the membership applications by Berjasa, Pejuang, Putra and the National Indian Muslim Alliance Party (Iman).

It is understood that Bersatu representatives objected to the applications because they believed the new parties could attract former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin, threatening the coalition’s internal stability.

Bersatu’s political bureau later denied Hadi’s accusations and said issues involving PN should be resolved within the coalition’s Supreme Council.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today