PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar's 28-day tenure as Opposition Leader may be the shortest in Malaysia's parliamentary history after PAS announced that Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin would continue leading the opposition bloc in Parliament.
Ahmad Samsuri, who is Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan) chairman and Terengganu Menteri Besar, was appointed to the post on May 16 after Perikatan secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan announced that the coalition's Supreme Council had agreed to replace Hamzah, who was sacked from Bersatu at the time, as Opposition Leader.
Takiyuddin said the decision was made during a Perikatan Supreme Council meeting chaired by Ahmad Samsuri, the Kemaman MP.
However, less than a month later, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party had agreed to retain Hamzah as Opposition Leader, effectively ending Ahmad Samsuri's brief tenure in the role.
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"PAS has agreed to retain Hamzah as opposition leader," Hadi said during the Reset convention in Tanah Merah on Saturday (June 13).
He added that Ahmad Samsuri would remain chairman of Perikatan Nasional.
Neither Hadi nor other Perikatan leaders immediately explained what prompted the change in position, and it remains unclear whether the Perikatan Nasional Supreme Council has formally rescinded its May 16 decision to appoint Ahmad Samsuri as Opposition Leader.
If the latest position stands, Ahmad Samsuri's tenure as Opposition Leader would have lasted just 28 days from his appointment on May 16 to Hadi's announcement on June 13.
