Malaysia’s PAS party set to lead opposition lawmakers
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Malaysia’s opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional will be led by a Member of Parliament from PAS.
PHOTO: PAS PRESIDEN MEDIA
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) will be led by a Member Parliament from Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), a move that will increase the conservative group’s opportunity to disrupt the nation’s political landscape.
The decision was announced after a coalition meeting on March 14, PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said in a statement.
The name of the MP will be announced before the end of March, he added.
The new opposition parliamentary leader will replace Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who was recently sacked by PN partner Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
The appointment boosts PAS’s long-held aspirations of transforming the country into an Islamic state.
With one of its leaders heading the opposition coalition, the party will be in a strong position to sway who will be the group’s candidate for prime minister in the general election in less than two years.
PAS, which holds the most seats in Parliament, has said it wants one of its members to be the coalition’s PM candidate for the general election.
Bersatu, led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, has seen its dominance of the nation’s second-largest coalition slip amid disarray within his party.
The party has been consumed by mass firings, suspensions and resignations triggered by a feud involving Muhyiddin and former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah.
Datuk Seri Samsuri recently replaced Muhyiddin as the Malay-Muslim political bloc’s chairman, the position managing the coalition. BLOOMBERG
