Muhyiddin vs Hamzah: Takiyuddin says PAS will not intervene
A senior PAS leader today said the party will not interfere in Perikatan Nasional-ally Bersatu’s internal turmoil, which has led to calls for either the resignation of Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin or his deputy, Hamzah Zainudin.
When met in Parliament, Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan, who had on multiple occasions joined Hamzah for the opposition leader’s weekly press conferences, also declined to state his personal view on the matter.
“PAS will not at all intervene in or offer views on any internal issues within Bersatu.
“Our only hope is that whatever is happening in Bersatu will be managed in the best possible way, not just for the sake of Bersatu but also for PN,” the PN deputy secretary-general told Malaysiakini.
“This is because the strength and stability of PAS, Bersatu, Gerakan, and MIPP (Malaysian Indian People's Party) as component parties are crucial to ensuring the solidity of PN, which remains the hope of a large segment of Malaysians,” Takiyuddin, who is also PAS secretary-general, added.
‘Bersatu focused on protecting Muhyiddin’
Earlier today, Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee emerged as the most senior party leader to call for Muhyiddin’s resignation as president.
The Beluran MP said in a statement that the party disciplinary board’s summons against Hamzah gave the public the impression that Bersatu is fixated on safeguarding Muhyiddin’s position instead of the issues it champions.
Separately, Bersatu vice-president Radzi Jidin alluded to the internal turmoil through a poem lamenting “pain without peace”, and how peace is unattainable without trust.
Both Radzi and Bersatu’s third vice-president, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, were among the party’s elected representatives who attended a gathering at Muhyiddin’s house last Sunday.
Notably absent were those said to be aligned with Hamzah.
The infighting within Bersatu had eased somewhat over the last few months, but an apparent tussle between Muhyiddin’s camp and PAS over control of PN had revealed further cracks within the party.
Ongoing tussle over new PN chair
On who will replace Muhyiddin as the new PN chairperson, Takiyuddin insisted that any decision can only be finalised at the coalition’s next supreme council meeting, scheduled to be convened after Feb 19.
“Any decision made outside of that (meeting) cannot be recognised.
“So if it was decided that PAS will lead PN, then PAS will put forward the name of its leader,” he said.
Takiyuddin was asked for comments on a Sinar Harian interview with the party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, last week, that the party had allegedly received Muhyiddin’s “blessings” to assume the chairperson position with no conditions attached.
A source close to Muhyiddin claimed that PAS will once again nominate its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, for the post and raised alleged objections from Gerakan and MIPP.
