SEPANG: Bersatu has lambasted PAS over supposedly repeated failures by PAS leaders to attend important meetings or respond to recent political crises impacting Perikatan Nasional.
Bersatu cited the recent crises affecting the positions of mentri besar for Perlis and Negri Sembilan in a lengthy statement by the party's political bureau on Sunday (May 24).
The first instance cited by Bersatu involved the political crisis surrounding the Perlis Mentri Besar position, in which PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang failed to attend an audience with the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.
The statement said the Raja of Perlis had decreed that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang seek an audience with His Royal Highness on Oct 25, 2025 to discuss the crisis.
“Bersatu president (Muhyiddin) was prepared to attend the audience but the session had to be cancelled due to PAS president (Abdul Hadi) being unable to attend for certain reasons,” it said.
Bersatu stressed that the abrupt cancellation ultimately led the Raja of Perlis to instruct both parties to submit names of Mentri Besar candidates for royal consideration.
“Bersatu upheld the decree and fully left it to His Royal Highness’s discretion whether to appoint a Mentri Besar from Bersatu or PAS.
“Therefore, the accusation that Bersatu had committed betrayal is excessive because what Bersatu did was just upholding the decree of the Raja of Perlis in an orderly and respectful manner,” it added.
The Perlis political crisis eventually ended with former mentri besar Mohd Shukri Ramli, who is from PAS, being replaced by Abu Bakar Hamzah from Bersatu, which resulted in an ongoing strained relationship between the two main components of Perikatan Nasional.
The party also said that PAS leaders failed to respond to attempts for consultation during the recent Negri Sembilan political crisis.
Beraatu said its secretary-general, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali had contacted PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan on April 28 to discuss the coalition’s position after Umno decided to remain in the Negri Sembilan unity government.
However, the discussion did not proceed after Takiyuddin informed Azmin that he was in Kota Baru.
The following day, Bersatu said Azmin once again contacted Takiyuddin to seek advice on whether Perikatan assemblymen should continue cooperating with Umno assemblymen in the state.
The party said that Azmin was concerned that further cooperation could create the impression that Perikatan supported Umno’s alignment with Pakatan in the state.
“To avoid this wrong impression, Azmin proposed that Perikatan withdraw from supporting the 14 Umno assemblymen.
“However, no response was received from the PAS secretary-general,” the bureau said.
It added that Azmin had made a third attempt on April 30, requesting a meeting and further discussions, but again received no response.
“From April 28 until May 5, PAS failed to provide any response to Bersatu’s proposal to withdraw support after Umno returned to supporting the Pakatan government in Negeri Sembilan,” the statement said.
