Perikatan Nasional’s Opposition Leader Dilemma

Malaysia’s opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) has appointed Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, affectionately known as Dr Sam, as its new chairman following the unexpected resignation of incumbent Muhyiddin Yassin. However, PN, which is primarily composed of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and the Malay nationalist party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), has not designated him as the opposition leader in parliament. The coalition finally decided that the candidate would come from PAS, but the delay in naming the person and rallying behind him casts doubt on whether PN is ready to be the alternative government.

Typically, the leader of the opposition must be from within the ranks of the opposition coalition. But the coalition is somewhat disjointed. On 22 February, Dr Sam, a PAS federal MP for Kemaman, was named PN chairman but was not named the opposition leader. In the most recent parliamentary sitting, Hamzah Zainuddin still held the role of opposition leader. He was Bersatu’s deputy president until he was expelled from the party. Hamzah continued to sit directly opposite Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the chamber. Hamzah, who is no longer a PN member, is regarded by some in the opposition ranks as the most capable strategist.

The crisis within Bersatu has been a year in the making. Open clashes began during the Bersatu assembly in 2025, with rumours that Hamzah was attempting to unseat Muhyiddin, then the PN chairman. Eventually, the two camps reconciled and Hamzah pledged loyalty to Muhyiddin. A number of Bersatu MPs were subsequently removed or suspended for breaches of party discipline. Notable casualties were Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal. The breaking point occurred in Perlis in late 2025, with speculation that Bersatu had orchestrated the toppling of the PAS chief minister — an allegation that Muhyiddin denied. Still, many blamed him for failing to enforce party discipline by reining in restive party members.

Muhyiddin remains as Bersatu president, while Hamzah and his supporters were purged from the party. In late February, 13 Bersatu MPs out of its current 25 (excluding the six MPs who declared support for PM Anwar earlier) pledged support for Hamzah to remain as opposition leader. There is speculation that Hamzah and his former Bersatu allies may take over Parti Keluarga Malaysia, a relatively unknown political party.

Given Bersatu’s woes, PAS — with 43 MPs — decided to take over the coalition’s leadership through Dr Sam’s appointment. Nevertheless, PN’s hesitation to name Dr Sam as the leader of the opposition casts doubt on whether he can challenge Prime Minister Anwar or keep the PN coalition intact. Muhyiddin, too, has openly criticised PN for being indecisive. He took jibes at Hamzah for not being ashamed of the fact that he has no locus standi to continue in that role.

The crisis within Bersatu has been a year in the making. Open clashes began during the Bersatu assembly in 2025, with rumours that Hamzah was attempting to unseat Muhyiddin, then the PN chairman.

On 14 March, three weeks after Dr Sam was named as chairman, PN finally decided that the opposition leader would come from PAS. This means that this person would replace Hamzah. But PN’s Supreme Council did not specifically name the opposition leader. The Council said that the new leader would be announced before the end of March.

The delay in Dr Sam’s appointment as opposition leader casts doubt on the coalition’s decisiveness. Granted, PN would have weighed the merits of not sticking with Hamzah, despite him having helmed the foreign affairs and domestic trade portfolios as minister, and several portfolios as deputy minister. He had proven himself to be a good debater, on par with PM Anwar. His most recent success was blocking the government’s bid to limit a sitting prime minister’s tenure to two terms.

However, his record of party-hopping does not speak well of his consistency or ability to work with others. He has jumped from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to Bersatu and is now on the verge of joining another party. There were reports that Hamzah had secretly met UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Bangkok, although he later declared that he had no intention of returning to UMNO.

This leaves the race for the opposition leader open. The two frontrunners from PAS are Dr Sam or Takiyuddin Hassan, who was promoted to PN secretary-general at the 14 March meeting. Dr Sam’s strength lies in his non-combative manner, which will make it difficult for government MPs to assassinate his character. The former political secretary to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is a moderate technocrat rather than a conservative cleric who appeals to non-Malays, a segment PN has struggled to reach.

However, Dr Sam suffers from a dearth of experience in federal politics. His stint in Parliament began only in December 2023 due to a by-election, and he had never held any cabinet position. While Dr Sam is also the chief minister of Terengganu, and led PAS to a clean sweep of all 32 seats in the state legislative assembly, he is not yet considered to be ready for the country’s top job.

Takiyuddin is also a contender. Unlike Dr Sam, he has cabinet experience as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (for parliament and law) and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. He has been an MP since 2013 and is an active parliamentarian. He is seen to be the second-most vocal on the opposition bench after Hamzah.

Naming Dr Sam or Takiyuddin as PN opposition leader would indeed be refreshing, in a political environment dominated by personalities who have been in politics since the 1980s. Both candidates fulfil PN’s PM-designate requirement for the next general election, which is due in February 2028. They are considered the “moderates” within PAS. This is critical, given that PAS has been struggling to bolster support beyond its conservative Malay base. In addition, they are the best candidates to prevent dissatisfied factions within PN from exploring new options, or reviving alternative alliances, such as Muafakat Nasional (between UMNO and PAS), or accelerating the firming of Ikatan Prihatin Rakyat (IPR, a coalition uniting all opposition parties, including those not in Parliament). These alternatives might signal the end of the PN project, despite its experience of governing the country and functioning as the opposition since the last general election. Closing the ranks by naming the opposition leader would make a stronger case for PN replacing the unity government.

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