What exactly is PAS’s problem with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin?
Is it the issue involving his son-in-law?
Is it the numerous court cases hanging over his head?
Is it Tun Dr Mahathir’s allegation that Muhyiddin siphoned money from Bersatu?
No.
PAS’s chief problem with Muhyiddin is far simpler, and far more fundamental: under his leadership, Perikatan Nasional is losing.
Not only is Perikatan failing to win new ground, it cannot even hold on to what it already has. Election after election, by-election after by-election, the trend has been unmistakable — Perikatan is bleeding support, slowly but steadily, and the passage of time has only worsened its condition.
What alarms PAS even more is not merely the losing, but Muhyiddin’s response to the losing — or rather, the lack of it.
A Leader Without Urgency
Why do I say Muhyiddin does not seem concerned?
Because there is no sense of urgency about him at all.
When an organisation has been on a downward trajectory for nearly three years, one would expect its leader to be visibly agitated — pushing reforms, making drastic changes, reshuffling leadership, rethinking strategy. One would expect frustration, anger, or at the very least, urgency.
Instead, Muhyiddin remains calm. Almost serenely so.
Perikatan has gone from good to bad, and from bad to worse, yet its chairman appears entirely unperturbed. Having Muhyiddin as PN’s leader is like having the captain of a ship who remains composed and dignified even when it is obvious that the vessel is taking on water and sinking.
A Temperament Mismatched to the Moment
Why does Muhyiddin project this undisturbed calm?
The charitable explanation is that this is simply his nature. He may have been born with such a temperament, or cultivated it over decades in politics because he believes it projects dignity and statesmanship.
And under different circumstances, that disposition might indeed be admirable.
If Perikatan had already governed for a decade or two, delivered prosperity, stability, and public satisfaction — and Muhyiddin was merely the next custodian of an established legacy — his calm, gentlemanly demeanour might have been ideal.
In such a scenario, Muhyiddin could have played the Lee Hsien Loong role.
Lee Kuan Yew had already built Singapore. The foundations were firm, the structure complete. Lee Hsien Loong was not expected to reinvent the nation, only to preserve and manage what already existed. His calm competence was sufficient because the heavy lifting had already been done.
Similarly, had Muhyiddin succeeded Mahathir in the early 2000s, when UMNO’s legacy was still intact and governance was relatively stable, he might have performed adequately as a legacy carrier.
But that is not today’s reality.
Perikatan Does Not Need a Caretaker — It Needs a Founder
Perikatan Nasional does not need a legacy carrier.
It needs a legacy creator.
It needs a leader who can fight from a position of disadvantage, withstand pressure, outmanoeuvre Pakatan Harapan, and claw its way back to Putrajaya. Only after winning can Perikatan begin to think about continuity and refinement.
In short, Perikatan needs a Lee Kuan Yew, not a Lee Hsien Loong.
Just as Singapore would likely have been swallowed by Malaysia or Indonesia had it been led by Lee Hsien Loong at its most vulnerable moment, Perikatan too risks collapse if it continues to face Anwar Ibrahim and PH with a leader whose greatest strength is calm resignation.
The Dr Samsuri Speculation — And Why It Misses the Point
This brings us to the recent photograph that has reignited speculation over Perikatan’s future leadership.
Earlier this week, a photo surfaced showing former PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin meeting Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar. The image, shared on Facebook by Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman — political secretary to PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang — was accompanied by the caption: “Alhamdulillah, insya-Allah.”
According to Mohd Syahir, the meeting took place with Hadi Awang’s blessings and was described as a “casual” encounter following Muhyiddin’s return from overseas. He declined to confirm whether it was linked to speculation that Dr Samsuri might replace Muhyiddin as PN chairman.
Nevertheless, the timing of the photo — just days before PAS is expected to hold discussions on PN’s leadership following Muhyiddin’s resignation — makes its political signalling hard to ignore.
PAS has reportedly proposed two names to replace Muhyiddin: Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Dr Samsuri, while Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has also been floated as a potential contender.
Replacing Muhyiddin with Dr Sam Is Going in Circles
Yet when I look at that photograph, I feel an unmistakable sense of déjà vu.
Muhyiddin and Dr Samsuri give off the same energy.
If Perikatan replaces Muhyiddin with Dr Samsuri, it risks repeating the very mistake that has paralysed it for years. Dr Samsuri may well offer Perikatan the same calmness, the same gentlemanly restraint, and ultimately, the same strategic inertia.
That is precisely what frustrated both PAS and Bersatu about Muhyiddin in the first place — to the point that they have been trying, quietly and not so quietly, to ease him out for years.
Replacing Muhyiddin with Dr Samsuri may simply condemn Perikatan to another cycle of stagnation, followed by another prolonged and awkward attempt to remove a leader who appears decent and well-meaning, but lacks the ruthlessness and fire needed to win.
Once on top, Perikatan might find it just as difficult to remove Dr Sam as it did Muhyiddin, because like Muhyiddin, Dr Sam also has a nice guy vibe. Nobody likes to be the one to remove a nice guy, because it makes you look like a nasty guy, even if the nice guy deserves to be removed, because he is a weak guy. This problem of removing a nice guy, might be why it has taken Perikatan so long to remove Muhyiddin, despite the fact that he has provided ineffective leadership for years.
Insanity, the Titanic, and the Violin
Einstein famously defined insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting a different result.
Replacing Muhyiddin with Dr Samsuri fits that definition perfectly.
Perhaps, after Perikatan has won power, stabilised governance, and secured broad public approval, someone like Dr Samsuri could serve as a capable legacy carrier.
But to put him in charge now — when Perikatan must charge uphill, under siege, against a well-entrenched Pakatan Harapan — is like appointing the bandleader of the Titanic as captain.
All that is going to happen is that the Dr Sam, like Muhyiddin, will be playing the violin calmly, as the titanic called Perikatan continues to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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