Uncertainty over Perikatan Nasional’s future leadership continued on January 26, 2026, as PAS signalled it had no objections to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin being considered for a key leadership role, while firmly placing the decision in the hands of the coalition’s highest decision-making body. The party made clear that any outcome regarding the chairmanship of the PN Presidential Council must be determined collectively by the presidents of the component parties.
PN deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said PAS was open to supporting any proposal that commanded consensus among coalition leaders. He explained that leadership matters could not be settled by individual parties or public speculation, stressing that authority rested solely with the Presidential Council itself. According to him, previous discussions within PN did not produce a decision on naming a new chairman, but instead focused on reviewing and potentially strengthening the powers of the Presidential Council.
The renewed attention on Muhyiddin’s role follows his announcement that he had stepped down as PN chairman with effect from January 1, 2026. The former prime minister, who is also president of Bersatu, confirmed his resignation earlier in the month, triggering wide speculation over who should steer the opposition coalition moving forward.
Several names were subsequently floated as possible successors, including PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang and Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar. At the same time, some voices within PAS, including its youth leadership, publicly expressed the view that the chairmanship should be held by PAS, adding another layer to the internal debate.
Takiyuddin clarified that such views did not override the coalition’s established structure. He reiterated that all deliberations on PN’s top leadership posts fall strictly under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Council, which is made up of the presidents of PN’s component parties. In addition to Abdul Hadi and Muhyiddin, the council includes Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau and Malaysian Indian People’s Party president P Punithan.
He indicated that when the Presidential Council convenes, its members would collectively decide whether to appoint one of the four presidents to the chairmanship or to take a different approach altogether. Any agreement or disagreement, he said, must be resolved through formal discussion within the council.
The latest developments suggest that while Muhyiddin’s resignation set the stage for a leadership transition, the possibility of his continued involvement at the highest level of PN has not been ruled out. For now, PAS appears keen to project unity and procedural discipline, signalling that the coalition’s next chapter will be shaped not by public pressure but by consensus among its top leaders.
FlyingBird (aicashflow7@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.