KUALA LUMPUR: PAS lawmakers are not bound to agree with Barisan Nasional which forms the largest Opposition bloc in Parliament, says party secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (pic).
“Although PAS agreed by convention that the Opposition leader should come from the party with the largest number of opposition MPs, we are not bound to follow Barisan Nasional,” he told reporters in the Parliament lobby on Monday (July 16).
The PAS chief whip added that the party is free to decide which issues the party wants to oppose on its own.
“For example, the Opposition leader may want to support a government Bill and PAS does not want to support it. We are not tied to his decision,” he said.
Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Anuar Musa confirmed that Bagan Dato MP and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would be the Opposition leader in Parliament.
Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said was named the Barisan chief whip by Dr Ahmad Zahid.
In the 14th general election, Barisan Nasional won 79 seats while PAS took 18.
However, several Barisan component parties in Sabah and Sarawak soon left the coalition, leaving the former ruling coalition with 57 MPs – 54 from Umno, two from MIC, and one from MCA.
Although Umno suffered further setbacks when three of its MPs abandoned the party to become independents, including former Puteri chief Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, it remains the party in the Opposition bloc with the most seats.
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