Senior leaders from PAS have issued veiled warnings about betrayal and broken loyalty following the appointment of a Bersatu assemblyman as the new menteri besar of Perlis, a move that has deepened strains within the Perikatan Nasional alliance.
Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah, who is also the Perlis Bersatu chief, was sworn in as menteri besar before the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, on December 27, 2025. He replaced Sanglang assemblyman Mohd Shukri Ramli from PAS, who stepped down from the post citing health reasons.
Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, PAS treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad posted remarks alluding to betrayal and the revelation of true intentions. While he did not directly identify any individual or party, the timing of the statement led to widespread speculation that it was linked to the change in Perlis leadership. When approached for clarification, Iskandar maintained that his remarks were general in nature and declined to elaborate further, saying any official response on the matter should come from the party’s central leadership.
Other PAS leaders also issued similarly worded statements centred on loyalty and trust, without explicitly naming Bersatu or referring directly to the Perlis situation. PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari shared a message suggesting that acts of betrayal transform allies into adversaries, while PAS central information committee member Nurul Islam Yusoff echoed past warnings by party leaders about the difficulty of sustaining loyalty within Bersatu.
Abu Bakar’s appointment followed a turbulent political episode in Perlis that exposed deep fractures within the ruling coalition. Reports indicated that eight Perikatan Nasional assemblymen had submitted statutory declarations to the state ruler withdrawing their support for Shukri. Among them were three PAS assemblymen — Saad Seman of Chuping, Fakhrul Anwar Ismail of Bintong, and Mohd Ridzuan Hashim of Guar Sanji — whose party memberships were later terminated. Their seats were subsequently declared vacant.
The episode has intensified questions about cohesion within Perikatan Nasional, particularly the working relationship between PAS and Bersatu at the state level. While PAS leaders have stopped short of making direct accusations, the tone and timing of their statements suggest deep unease over how events unfolded in Perlis.
As political tensions continue to simmer, attention is now focused on whether PAS will issue a formal position on the matter and how the alliance will manage growing distrust among its component parties following the abrupt leadership change.
Kamran (kfiverr21@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!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.