Malaysia’s Opposition: The Need to Close Ranks

Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation as the chairman of Perikatan Nasional (PN) has opened a path for the Islamist party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), to lead the opposition coalition. The surprising announcement by the former prime minister on 30 December last year has also given PAS a chance to overhaul the opposition bench and consequently influence the shape of a government-in-waiting.

In seeking to revitalise the opposition, however, PAS faces a long list of obstacles. This includes infighting within the coalition, the lack of succession planning in the party and the public perception that PAS is ideologically unsuitable to lead the opposition front. Time is also running out, as the term for the current Parliament will expire in December next year.

Since the last general election in 2022, the opposition leadership has been ambiguously structured. After the election defeat, Muhyiddin chose to remain as the PN chair and president of the coalition’s key constituent party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Despite retaining control over PN and Bersatu, Muhyiddin did not take up the formal role of the opposition leader. Instead, the high-profile role of challenging the prime minister on the parliamentary floor was handed to Bersatu Deputy President Hamzah Zainuddin, making it the first time in history that the opposition leader was held by someone who is not a party’s top leader.

While Bersatu with only 23 federal seats holds the key positions in the opposition coalition, PAS remains the most dominant opposition party with 43 seats in Parliament’s lower house of 222 members. This ambiguity in opposition leadership has effectively prevented PN from presenting a credible prime ministerial candidate and a clear policy direction of its government-in-waiting.

Following the collapse of the Mahathir Mohamad-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government in 2020, Anwar Ibrahim returned to the frontbench of the opposition to assume the role of the opposition leader. Anwar’s appointment as prime minister in 2022 reinforced the idea that the opposition serves as the government-in-waiting, strengthening the institution of the parliamentary opposition and the importance of the opposition leader. The process of developing the opposition’s institutional strength began in 2008, when Anwar was made the opposition leader for the first time.

Unfortunately, the vague opposition leadership structure since 2022 has reversed the institutional strengthening of the opposition front. The infighting within Bersatu has led to further weakening of the role of the opposition leader, as factions unaligned with Hamzah actively sought to curb his influence.

Muhyiddin’s resignation is an opportunity, particularly for PAS to undo the damage done to the opposition front. However, efforts to rebuild the opposition’s institutional strength have been facing serious obstacles. PAS is also riven by the lack of succession planning and infighting between those who want leadership renewal and those who want the wheelchair-bound president Abdul Hadi Awang to remain in office for as long as possible. This has prevented the party from naming a new PN chair who would ideally also be the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate. Meanwhile, Muhyiddin has proposed the formation of two councils within PN, a presidential council and an executive council. This would introduce more uncertainty to the opposition leadership and further blur the lines of responsibility.

Regardless of how PAS deals with the issue of PN chairmanship, the ambiguity in the opposition frontbench will likely continue if the new chairman does not assume the role of opposition leader and become the prime ministerial candidate.

Externally, PAS is also battling public perception that as an Islamist party, it is unsuitable and unfit to lead a government-in-waiting for multiracial Malaysia. The public perception is that PAS should only continue playing a supporting role in the opposition.

Such perceptions are congruent with PAS’ history. In Malaysian politics, the party has always played a supporting role. In the early to mid-1990s, the party was part of Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah, an all Malay-Muslim coalition led by the now-defunct Semangat 46. Following Anwar’s sacking from the government in 1998, PAS became part of Barisan Alternatif led by the then Parti Keadilan Nasional. It continued to play a supporting role in Pakatan Rakyat formed after the 2008 general election.

To counter this expectation that PAS should only remain junior partner in any coalition, some have floated the name of party vice-president and Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as a potential replacement for Muhyiddin. His academic background and approachable demeanour would help to soften the party’s hardline image. But the party’s infighting remains an obstacle to elevating Ahmad Samsuri to the PN chairmanship. Zaharudin Muhammad, the party’s Sungai Buloh chief and PAS President Hadi’s son-in-law, publicly opposes the appointment.

For PAS, the least divisive option is to name its Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to lead PN, as Hadi has declined to replace Muhyiddin due to his poor health. An Islamic scholar, Tuan Ibrahim has openly advocated for PAS to take the lead role in PN.

Regardless of how PAS deals with the issue of PN chairmanship, the ambiguity in the opposition frontbench will likely continue if the new chairman does not assume the role of opposition leader and become the prime ministerial candidate. PAS has made it clear that the next PN chairman may not necessarily be its prime ministerial candidate.

Having a credible leader and a prime ministerial candidate is key to restoring the opposition’s credibility. Without restoring the opposition’s institutional strength, PN will enter the next general election on the back foot and confirm Anwar’s second term as the prime minister.

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