Ex-PM Muhyiddin says Malaysia’s opposition pact PN to abolish chairman post, introduce new ‘councils’
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will head the presidential council while coalition partner Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) is set to lead the bloc’s executive council.
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KUALA LUMPUR: In an unexpected turn of events, Malaysia’s opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) is set to abolish the chairman post previously held by Muhyiddin Yassin, as part of a move to “resolve the impasse” surrounding the appointment of his successor.
This is part of a “structural overhaul” for the pact, Muhyiddin said in a letter dated Tuesday (Jan 27) addressed to the presidents of the three other PN component parties.
PN was formed in February 2020 and is currently made up of four component parties: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS), Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP). The latter two are largely considered to be minor players in the coalition.
Commenting on the latest move made by the opposition bloc, analysts whom CNA spoke to said that it potentially reflects a lack of confidence in letting PAS lead the coalition.
Muhyiddin, who announced his resignation from the chairman post effective Jan 1, said that under a new framework, PN will be managed by a presidential council that will be led by Bersatu and an executive council that would be headed by PAS.
“The primary role of the presidential council is to serve as the highest decision-making body responsible for determining the policies of PN, while the executive council is tasked with administering PN in accordance with the policies set by the presidential council,” Muhyiddin wrote in the letter in his capacity as the president of Bersatu that was seen by CNA.
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He noted that the leaders from Bersatu and PAS had reached an agreement on the matter during a Jan 16 meeting at his residence.
“The meeting took place in a very harmonious atmosphere and successfully produced results that I believe will further strengthen the unity between the member parties of PN.
“In fact, (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang, in his wisdom, initiated the discussion by emphasising that PN must remain a coalition of parties capable of attracting support from all segments of this country’s multi-racial society,” said Muhyiddin.
The former prime minister noted that the creation of these two mutually reinforcing councils were essential to preserving the image of PN as a moderate national political coalition supported by Malaysia’s multi-racial society, including those in Sabah and Sarawak.
“With this restructuring of PN, the position of PN chairman is abolished, and the matter of appointing a chairman no longer arises," he stressed.
Muhyiddin’s announcement came amid issues plaguing the opposition coalition, which has seen the bloc’s top post vacant since Jan 1.
In his letter on Tuesday, Muhyiddin acknowledged that PN’s deputy secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan had on Jan 24 issued an invitation notice for an extraordinary meeting of the PN supreme council scheduled for Jan 29, which he was not invited to.
He said that the notice listed - among other things - the appointment of a new PN chairman as one of the agendas for the meeting.
“This agenda is inconsistent with the consensus reached by the top leadership of Bersatu and PAS on Jan 16, 2026, which was also agreed upon by the presidents of Gerakan and MIPP," Muhyiddin said in his letter.
He said that in line with the spirit of consensus among the PN component parties that it was only appropriate that the meeting was cancelled.
In its place, Muhyiddin invited all the presidents of PN’s component parties to a pre-council meeting at his residence scheduled for the same time and date.
"Let us return to the path of consensus between us to resolve PN's internal crisis harmoniously,” he said.
Following Muhyiddin’s letter, Takiyuddin had on Jan 27 issued a cancellation of the planned PN supreme council meeting.
Earlier, Takiyuddin had during a press conference on Jan 23 dismissed suggestions that as Muhyiddin was still seen by some as technically still chairman of the coalition, not inviting him for the PN supreme council meeting had violated PN's constitution.
"While the resignation should only be effective after it is accepted by the PN supreme council, from a legal perspective, when the PN chairperson stepped down, and he stated a date when his resignation takes effect ... here he stated Jan 1, based on his own letter.
"So, from a legal perspective, it is functus officio, meaning it has taken effect. But it will still be taken to the PN supreme council for endorsement," Takiyuddin was quoted as saying by news site Malaysiakini.
Muhyiddin’s resignation as PN chairman followed a political crisis in the northeastern state of Perlis, whose state assembly is controlled by PN.
The upheaval saw PAS’ Sanglang assemblyman Mohd Shukri Ramli resigning as chief minister and Bersatu’s Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah replacing him in the post.
But Shukri’s resignation came after eight statutory declarations were signed by state assemblymen – three from PAS and five from Bersatu – retracting their support for him.
There are 15 seats in Perlis’ state assembly, and the three PAS assemblymen have since been sacked by the Islamist party. PAS holds six of the remaining seats, Bersatu holds five, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat holds one.
Following the upheaval in Perlis, PAS said that it would support the state government's stability but would refuse to join the state executive council in a sign of solidarity with the ousted Shukri.
WHAT ANALYSTS SAY
Analysts whom CNA spoke to said that the recent chain of events - and in particular the latest development to abolish the chairman role - potentially reveals a deep-seated lack of confidence within the PN coalition regarding its leadership bench, particularly from PAS.
Political scientist Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) noted the irony of an almost month-long wait for the opposition bloc to announce Muhyiddin’s successor, only for the role set to be done away with.
The PN chairman effectively would be the bloc’s prime minister candidate going into the next general election that must be held by early 2028.
“It has been a month since (Muhyiddin’s) announcement of resignation just for PN to go in a full circle for Bersatu - i.e Muhyiddin - to lead this presidential council. It means that in one month, after (the) talk about PAS putting (up) their man (for the role), the bloc don’t actually have confidence in PAS to lead,” she said.
After Muhyiddin’s resignation, PAS leaders including Hadi had come out to say that the party would take the helm of the opposition bloc.
Syaza believes that while the grassroots were keen on seeing PAS lead the coalition, the leadership echelon was wary as there was a possibility of people not voting for PN if PAS were to lead the coalition.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s visiting fellow Amrita Malhi wrote in a commentary in April last year that PAS’ “exclusionary narratives” and its leaders’ consistently “chauvinistic statements” have alienated non-Muslims.
“Its leaders’ statements cast these minorities as threats to Malay and Muslim power, arguing for their rights and freedoms to be stripped on the one hand; while, on the other, seeking to reassure them that they would be safe under PAS rule,” she wrote.
PN enjoyed surprise success in the 2022 general election that was characterised by the "green wave" featuring significant electoral gains largely propelled by PAS.
PN won 74 seats in the 222-seat parliament, establishing itself as the second-largest bloc behind Pakatan Harapan (PH), which won 82 seats.
PAS was the driving force behind PN's success, securing 43 parliamentary seats - a substantial gain of 25 seats - while Bersatu secured 31 seats, representing a gain of 17 seats.
However, Bersatu’s share of seats has since dropped to 25, after six members of parliament unhappy with Muhyiddin’s leadership switched allegiance to Anwar’s government in 2023.
Syaza thinks that the plan helps “slightly” in terms of coalition stability, with PN recognising that it was to rectify the issue of power-sharing.
But she said that there was no doubt that it would still be Muhyiddin “at the top” and leading the bloc.
“As long as PAS can accept that then okay. But the announcement says Bersatu will lead this presidential council. They could still manufacture a coup for Hamzah Zainuddin to take over as Bersatu president and thus leader of this presidential council. That could cause trouble,” she said.
Bersatu has been divided into at least two main camps: one that is with Muhyiddin, and another with Hamzah who is currently the party’s deputy president.
News reports also point to a Bersatu faction loyal to the party’s secretary-general Azmin and aligned with Muhyiddin.
Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Malaysia-based think-tank Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research is unsure if the proposed plan would help the coalition gain stability as Bersatu would still be in command.
“This (seems) to be a cunning method by Muhyiddin, as he would still hold the power while PAS will have to do whatever he says … It looks much worse optically for PAS compared to before this as they had spoken about helming the coalition,” he told CNA.
CNA has reached out to PAS for comment.
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