PETALING JAYA: Bersatu has finally responded to allegations made by Perikatan Nasional component party PAS with a warning to the Islamist party not to interfere in its internal matters.
In a lengthy statement issued yesterday to rebut PAS’ accusations, Bersatu’s political bureau stated that the accusations made by Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang on May 22 were uncalled for.
The statement from Bersatu is the first from the party leadership that addressed Abdul Hadi’s allegations, which came on the heels of a strained relationship between the two parties over the last few months.
On the sacking of its deputy president, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, and other leaders in February, Bersatu pointed out that the move was affirmed as “constitutional” by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), reminding PAS that it has no say in it.
“Every political party has ethical and disciplinary procedures that its members must follow.
“The disciplinary board acted against party members based on evidence and complaints, and after conducting hearings and investigations.
“This is a disciplinary matter that all party members must comply with,” it said.
It added that the ROS, in a letter dated May 7, confirmed that Bersatu had acted in accordance with the party’s constitution.
“PAS, as a component party within Perikatan, should respect and not interfere in the internal affairs of other component parties regarding disciplinary matters and actions taken to stabilise the party,” said the bureau.
On May 22, Abdul Hadi had also said that PAS will review its cooperation with Bersatu in Perikatan, claiming that the latter had failed to keep its promises and had blocked other political parties from joining the coalition, affecting its expansion.
On this, Bersatu said it upholds the principles of consultation and discussion within the Perikatan supreme council on matters of policy.
“This has been the practice since Perikatan was led by [Bersatu president] Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin,” the bureau said.
Bersatu also lambasted PAS over supposedly repeated failures by its leaders to attend important meetings or respond to recent political crises impacting the coalition.
It cited the recent crises affecting the positions of mentris besar for Perlis and Negri Sembilan, where in the first instance, Bersatu said Abdul Hadi had failed to attend an audience with the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.
The party said the Perlis Ruler had decreed that Muhyiddin and Abdul Hadi 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,” it said.
Bersatu claimed that the abrupt cancellation ultimately led the Perlis Ruler 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’ discretion whether to appoint a mentri besar either from Bersatu or PAS.
“Therefore the accusation that Bersatu had committed a betrayal is excessive.
“What we did was just to uphold the decree of the Raja of Perlis in an orderly and respectful manner,” it added.
The party had also claimed that PAS leaders failed to respond to attempts at consultation during the recent Negri Sembilan political crisis.
It said that its secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali had attempted to call for a meeting with his PAS counterpart Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan but received no response.
