PETALING JAYA: As the internal strife in Perikatan Nasional worsens, the legitimacy of the current leadership of the coalition is at the centre of attention.
This raises the question of who exactly the rightful chairman of Perikatan is in the records of the Registrar of Societies (ROS), which is the legal authority on political entities.
PAS wrote to the ROS to prove that vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar was rightfully appointed.
In a statement issued yesterday, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan stated that the ROS had also confirmed Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation from the chairman’s post on Feb 22.
The letter from the ROS dated June 19, which Takiyuddin reproduced verbatim in his statement, was sighted by The Star.
“Accordingly, it is emphasised that any activity or meeting conducted in the name of Perikatan may only be carried out with the approval of the chairman of Perikatan – Ahmad Samsuri,” said Takiyuddin in his statement.
Internal party WhatsApp groups have been rife with allegations that Ahmad Samsuri had not been rightfully registered in the ROS as the legal chairman of the coalition.
On June 17, Ahmad Samsuri announced that Perikatan was dropping Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Radzi Jidin and Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Azmin Ali from the coalition supreme council line-up.
He added that Radzi would be replaced by PAS’ Datuk Seri Mohd Sanusi Md Nor, who is also Kedah Mentri Besar.
However, Bersatu had questioned if Ahmad Samsuri had overstepped his role as chairman.
The doubt arose because a poster of a Perikatan supreme council meeting allegedly called by Muhyiddin made its rounds earlier yesterday, only to be debunked as fake by Bersatu secretary- general Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
Muhyiddin is currently the deputy chairman after he resigned as Perikatan chairman on New Year’s day.
While Azmin said the poster was the work of artificial intelligence, when queried earlier on the veracity of the poster calling for the coalition meeting, Muhyiddin replied: “True.”
Azmin said that Bersatu is looking at questioning the constitutionality of the actions committed by the current Perikatan leadership, but declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, Bersatu leaders have hit back, saying that PAS previously did not act in accordance with the coalition’s constitution.
Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said PAS should leave Perikatan Nasional and form a new coalition using its own logo and branding.
“Regarding amendments to the Perikatan constitution, a decision was made on Feb 22 that the appointment of Ahmad Samsuri as Perikatan chairman was solely to manage the coalition’s administration and daily operations, while executive authority over strategic and policy matters would be vested in the Presidential Council, comprising party presidents with executive powers within their respective parties,” said Tun Faisal.
The Perikatan Presidential Council – comprising the four presidents of Perikatan’s component parties – was proposed by Muhyiddin to be the topmost decision-making body in Perikatan.
“An initial agreement was reached on Jan 16 and later formalised by the supreme council on Feb 22. Gerakan and MIPP submitted their input.
“PAS requested two months to do the same (which should have been completed by April 22).
“However, by the Supreme Council meeting on May 16, PAS had still failed to provide its input and requested another month’s extension,” said Tun Faisal.
He said this showed PAS’ lack of seriousness as a Perikatan member.
He claimed that PAS had never been fully committed to Perikatan, alleging that the party had been involved in political negotiations with its arch-rival Umno.
Meanwhile, the parliament seating for the new Dewan Rakyat meeting, to begin on June 22, was also released by Perikatan.
Muhyiddin, who used to sit next to reinstated Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, has now been moved to another box, albeit within the opposition bloc.
Ahmad Samsuri now occupies Muhyiddin’s old seat, next to Hamzah.
