Malaysia’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) supporters outside a nomination centre in Sungai Pusu, Selangor, on Jul 29, 2023, ahead of the state election. (File photo: CNA/Fadza Ishak)

PAS chief Abdul Hadi Awang denies opposition pact PN will remove chairman post, contradicting Muhyiddin

This is the latest in a series of leadership disputes for the opposition bloc, which has left the coalition’s top post officially vacant since former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation took effect on Jan 1.

29 Jan 2026, 04:13 by Rashvinjeet S Bedi · CNA · Join

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition pact Perikatan Nasional (PN) has plunged into further disarray after coalition partner Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS) denied agreeing to the suggestion to abolish the chairman post, directly contradicting a claim made by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin just a day earlier.

In a letter dated Wednesday (Jan 28) that was addressed to the coalition’s three other partners, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said that while it agreed to the formation of a presidential council that would function as the pact’s supervisory body, the issue of abolishing the chairman’s post was not discussed during their meeting on Jan 16.

The post was previously held by Muhyiddin, who had announced his resignation effective Jan 1. Whoever assumes the PN chairman post would effectively be the bloc’s prime minister candidate going into the next general election that must be held by early 2028.

“With regard to the statement by Muhyiddin stating, ‘with the restructuring of PN, the position of PN chairperson is abolished and the matter of appointing a PN chairperson no longer arises’, I wish to stress that this issue was never discussed or agreed to by our side, including during the meeting on Jan 16,” said Hadi in the letter that was sighted by CNA.

Hadi stressed that the Islamist party was of the opinion that the chairman’s post must remain and not be abolished.

The content of the letter has since been reported by Malaysian news outlets. CNA has contacted PAS for further comment.

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Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang at the party's 69th annual congress in Shah Alam, Selangor on Oct 21, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Fadza Ishak)

PN was formed in February 2020 and is currently made up of four component parties: Bersatu, 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.

Muhyiddin had claimed in a letter on Jan 27 that the other parties in the coalition - including PAS - had agreed to abolish the chairman post previously held by him, as part of a move to “resolve the impasse” surrounding the appointment of his successor.

Muhyiddin had claimed that under the new agreed 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.

In his letter, Hadi however said that PN’s existing supreme council should be transformed into a new executive council that would administer the coalition and implement its strategies.

He added that the presidential council would function as an “advisory body” to safeguard the policies and the bloc’s direction.

Hadi’s letter comes after PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan on Wednesday evening said that the party was unhappy with the circulation of Muhyiddin’s letter,

He further stressed that PAS was unable to confirm the details in Muhyiddin’s letter.

"Our party will convey its position on the matter in writing to the presidents of PN member parties for their due attention," said Takiyuddin, who is also PN deputy secretary-general.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin. (File photo: CNA/Fadza Ishak)

Muhyiddin’s letter surfaced after he was sidelined from a PN supreme council meeting scheduled on Thursday night that was aimed at filling his vacancy.

Muhyiddin had called for the meeting’s cancellation, and had instead invited the presidents of PN’s component parties to a pre-council meeting at his residence scheduled for the same time and date.

Following this, Takiyuddin then issued a cancellation of the PN supreme council meeting.

It is unclear if the meeting called by Muhyiddin will now go ahead.

Hadi had previously said that PAS “will take over the leadership” of PN, while adding that there were many within his party who were qualified for the chairman role even as he appeared to rule himself out.

This is the latest in a series of leadership disputes within the opposition bloc, which has left the coalition’s top post officially vacant since Muhyiddin’s resignation took effect on Jan 1.

Muhyiddin’s resignation as PN chairman followed a political crisis in the northeastern state of Perlis, whose state assembly is controlled by the bloc.

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.

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