PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has yet to fix a date to decide on its new chairman, more than two weeks after the post was left vacant following Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation as coalition opposition leader.
PN supreme council member Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the coalition had not determined when a meeting would be convened to resolve the leadership vacuum.
“The decision will be made during a supreme council meeting before deciding who the candidate for chairman will be,” the PAS deputy president told theSun.
Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PN chairman and Kubang Kerian MP, confirmed that no date had been fixed for the meeting but declined to elaborate.
PN chief whip and PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan did not respond to calls or messages seeking confirmation of the meeting.
The chairman’s post has been vacant since Jan 1 following Muhyiddin’s resignation on Dec 30.
His decision to step down was followed by the resignation of four PN state committee chairmen, including Selangor PN chief Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who also relinquished his secretary-general post. The others who were Perak PN chief Datuk Seri Faizal Azumu, as well as the coalition chiefs for Johor and Negeri Sembilan, Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal and Mohamad Hanifah Abu Baker.
The resignations came several days after political turmoil in Perlis which saw a PAS menteri besar step down before being replaced by a Bersatu leader.
On Monday night, Bersatu’s supreme council, which met at the party’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya, accepted Muhyiddin’s resignation. However, the reasons behind his decision have yet to be made public.
“The decision was mine alone and I will not explain it until a PN meeting is held,” Muhyiddin told reporters after chairing the meeting, which reportedly lasted four hours and stretched into the early hours of Tuesday.
Further attempts by theSun to obtain clarity on the matter with other leaders also proved futile. Speculation is rife over who will succeed Muhyiddin, with several prominent figures emerging as possible contenders.
Among them are Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and PAS vice-president and Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
Both wield considerable influence among members from the coalition and their parties. On Tuesday, a photo of Samsuri meeting with Muhyiddin was shared on Facebook with a caption – Alhamdulillah, Insya Allah. It added to the belief that Samsuri is among the frontrunners for the chairmanship.
