BERSATU President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stressed that the appointment of Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as chairman of Perikatan Nasional does not make the Terengganu Menteri Besar the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate for the next general election.
The party president said the question of who would be nominated as prime minister should the coalition win the 16th General Election was entirely separate from the leadership of the bloc.
“This is an appointment as PN chairman, not as Prime Minister candidate. I am quoting Tuan Ibrahim (PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man), who mentioned that this is for the post of PN chairman.
“If you want to talk about the candidate for Prime Minister, that is another issue.
“That has not been discussed yet… when it was previously raised and I was nominated (as Prime Minister), the PAS leadership said no… we do not want to discuss that matter… so I think that position still stands,” he told reporters at the party headquarters.
An extraordinary meeting of PN’s Supreme Council on 22 February resolved to appoint Dr Ahmad Samsuri as the coalition’s new chairman, replacing Muhyiddin following his resignation from the post on 30 December 2025.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu had previously taken the view that the chairman’s post ought to be held by a party president, but acknowledged that PN’s constitution did not stipulate such a requirement.
“The party’s view was that the post should be filled by a president, but the PN constitution does not impose that condition. It simply says… if you want to be PN chairman you must be more senior, not junior,” he said, adding that Bersatu respected PAS’s firm position in proposing Dr Ahmad Samsuri to lead the coalition.
In the same briefing, Muhyiddin reiterated that he would not contemplate cooperation in the near term with former Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, saying he no longer trusted him.
“If he wants to find his own direction, that is his business. I do not want to interfere. But if he wants to join PN... I will answer no because once bitten, twice shy.
“Someone who has acted in that way, you want to come back in? PN has four component parties that will consider whether it is possible or not. But in my personal view, if within a year or two he does not show that he is all right, I am sorry, we are human beings. It is not that simple,” he said.
He emphasised that admission into PN was not the prerogative of any single leader but required the agreement of all component parties.
Despite recent internal upheavals, Muhyiddin maintained that Bersatu remained stable and forward-looking.
He again signalled that he did not intend to lead the party indefinitely and was preparing the ground for a younger generation to assume control.
He cited a number of senior figures within the party as part of a capable second line of leadership, including vice-presidents Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin and Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu; secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali; Armada chief Muhammad Hilman Idham; and Supreme Leadership Council member Dr Afif Bahardin.
Muhyiddin said he would eventually step aside once the party’s foundations were sufficiently strong, underscoring that leadership transition required careful preparation rather than abrupt departure. - March 4, 2026
