KOTA BHARU: PAS Secretary-General Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan confirmed that the party already has a candidate to be appointed Perikatan Nasional chairman.
He said the final decision would be made at the Perikatan Supreme Council Meeting, in accordance with the coalition's constitution, Sinar Harian reported.
"The candidate is the highest PAS leader and a member of Parliament. When PAS leads, we will highlight it," he told reporters after delivering a closed-door address to the leaders of the Bunut Payong State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here on Thursday night (Feb 6).
However, Takiyuddin said the candidate's identity could not be announced at this time because the appointment of the Perikatan chairman was subject to the Supreme Council.
According to him, the Supreme Council is the coalition's highest body, and all important decisions, including the appointment of the chairman, must be made at its meetings.
He also expressed confidence that the issue related to the appointment of the Perikatan chairman could be resolved amicably.
Commenting further, Takiyuddin said efforts to hold a Supreme Council meeting were still delayed due to scheduling constraints involving the component party presidents, with one able to attend only after February 19.
"The date has entered the month of Ramadan, and it is likely that the meeting will be held during the fasting month," he said.
Meanwhile, he stressed that the delay in appointing the Perikatan chairman was not a big issue.
"According to the original schedule, the Supreme Council meeting was supposed to take place on January 29, but had to be cancelled because it overlapped with other meetings.
"If Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were still the Perikatan chairman, he should have called the meeting. However, several delays occurred until I had to take on the role of Perikatan Deputy Secretary to manage this matter," he said.
