PAS president accused of bypassing PN leadership as internal power dynamics come under scrutiny

A  FORMER senior aide to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has publicly questioned the internal governance of Perikatan Nasional (PN), alleging that key decisions affecting the opposition coalition were made outside its formal decision-making structure and instead reflected the dominant influence of PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Datuk Dr Marzuki Mohamad, who previously served as Muhyiddin's private secretary, claimed that two significant decisions announced recently by Hadi were not deliberated or approved by the PN Supreme Council (MT), the coalition's highest leadership body.

According to Marzuki, the decisions involved the appointment of Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin as Opposition Leader and the use of the PN logo by Hamzah's party in the upcoming Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

“PAS President is not a member of the PN Supreme Council, but is ‘powerful’ enough to make decisions on behalf of PN.

“The decision to appoint Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin as Opposition Leader and the decision allowing the party led by Hamzah to use the PN logo in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections were also made without going through a PN Supreme Council meeting.

“In fact, the first decision contradicts the Supreme Council's earlier decision to appoint PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as Opposition Leader,” he said in a social media post.

The remarks come after reports that Hamzah had been reinstated as Opposition Leader, with PAS leaders citing his parliamentary performance and broad support among opposition lawmakers as key factors behind the decision.

PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man reportedly said the matter had been agreed upon earlier, prior to Ahmad Samsuri's appointment as chairman of Perikatan Nasional last month.

Despite his criticism, Marzuki said he expected the PN Supreme Council to eventually endorse Hadi's decisions, arguing that the coalition's leadership structure effectively remained dependent on the PAS president's approval.

“It is impossible that the PN chairman, who is also a PAS vice-president, would not place these two matters on the agenda of the next PN Supreme Council meeting.

“His position as PN chairman itself depends on the goodwill of the PAS President.

“Even today, before thousands of PAS members mobilised to enliven Hamzah's event, he was ‘dismissed’ as Opposition Leader before he could even begin the job,” he said.

Marzuki also delivered a pointed criticism of what he portrayed as the concentration of authority within PAS, suggesting that if PN were to form the federal government in the future, key decisions would not necessarily emerge from formal Cabinet deliberations.

“When PN becomes the government one day, journalists will not need to wait in Putrajaya on Wednesdays to learn Cabinet decisions. Just wait in Rusila on Fridays.

“These are the characteristics of the PAS President as a ‘Supreme Leader’,” he said.

The comments are likely to intensify debate over leadership, authority and internal decision-making within Perikatan Nasional as the opposition coalition prepares for crucial state elections and seeks to project unity ahead of future national political contests. - June 15, 2026