PETALING JAYA: Bersatu has accused PAS of attempting to consolidate its grip on Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan) by increasing its representation in the coalition's top decision-making body while reducing Bersatu's influence.
The party information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz claimed the removal of Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali from key Perikatan positions had tilted the balance of power in favour of PAS within the coalition's Supreme Council.
He said PAS now holds eight positions in the council, comprising the chairman, deputy chairman, secretary-general, treasurer, information chief, election director, Perikatan Youth chief and one council member.
"Bersatu's representation has been reduced to only four positions, namely the deputy chairman, Women's chief and two Supreme Council members," he said in a statement on Thursday (June 18).
Tun Faisal questioned the rationale behind the planned emergency meeting of the Perikatan Supreme Council, which was recently announced amid speculation of internal disagreements within the opposition coalition.
He said the urgency of such a meeting was puzzling given that coalition leadership had allegedly failed to convene the regular Supreme Council meetings, electoral pact committee meetings, seat negotiations or election preparations in recent months.
"There were also no serious efforts to resolve internal issues within the coalition," he alleged.
Tun Faisal further claimed that certain factions within PAS were seeking to dominate Perikatan and marginalise Bersatu's role in the coalition.
He said PAS previously held six seats in the Supreme Council while Bersatu also had six representatives.
He said the removal of Radzi and Azmin increased PAS' voting strength to eight while reducing Bersatu's representation to four.
Tun Faisal argued that in any future vote within the council, PAS would enjoy a significant advantage if it secured the support of Gerakan, which holds three votes in the body.
"With Gerakan's support, PAS would have 10 votes, compared with only seven votes for Bersatu and MIPP combined, assuming MIPP supports Bersatu," he claimed.
He alleged that such an arrangement would allow PAS to push through decisions within the coalition with little resistance.
Tun Faisal also claimed that some PAS members had privately expressed concerns over what he described as the actions of a "Publika Cluster", which he alleged was disregarding party procedures and centralising power.
Despite the developments, he said Bersatu remained committed to defending and strengthening Perikatan.
"Bersatu remains committed to defending and preserving Perikatan Nasional," he said, while urging PAS members to help prevent what he described as excessive political manoeuvring from within the party.
On Wednesday (June 17), Perikatan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar announced that both Radzi and Azmin have been dropped from their posts in the coalition.
Ahmad Samsuri said that Azmin was dropped as deputy secretary-general, while Radzi would be replaced as election director by Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor.
He also said that Muhammad Sanusi would be replaced as Perikatan treasurer by Subramaniam Surunaryan.
