10 hours ago
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JOHOR BAHRU: Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the newly appointed chairman of Malaysia’s opposition coalition, has pledged for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) to engage ethnic minority communities outside of its Malay-Muslim voter base as it charts a path to play a key role in the country’s future.
Ahmad Samsuri was making his first public remarks as PN chairman while speaking as a guest on the local podcast Lebih Masa hosted by former Minister of National Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and social media influencer Nani Roslan.
The podcast was recorded on Monday (Feb 23) - a day after PN announced Ahmad Samsuri’s appointment - and released on Wednesday.
During the podcast, Ahmad Samsuri stressed Malaysia has reached a phase where the government in power cannot be led by one character or one central figure, but rather must be shared across a leadership team.
When pressed if he would be the next prime minister of Malaysia, he said he harboured no such dreams. This is in spite of the fact that as chairman of PN, he is likely to be the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate ahead of polls that must be held by February 2028.
“All leaders have different strengths and attributes. And if called upon to form the next government, we have to do our best,” he said.
Asked to expound on his plans for PN and its main component party Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Ahmad Samsuri said: “We need to come out in the open. If you want to be a real champion, you have to come out in the open, whether at the state, federal or international level - it’s time for us to … face reality.”
“We have a strategy to engage the different demographics at such a complex time for the country. We can’t run away from it, this is the structure of Malaysia,” added the PAS vice-president.
He also pointed out that it was the right moment for PAS to play a leading role in the PN coalition and in forming the next government.
“The number of seats PAS has (in parliament) has surpassed even the DAP (Democratic Action Party). DAP has maintained but this is the first time in Malaysia’s history where PAS is (evolving) and it is the party with the largest number of seats,” said Ahmad Samsuri, who is also known as Dr Sam.
“It’s time for us to play a more prominent role in the formation of the country’s future,” he added.
DAP, which is part of the unity government coalition under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, has 40 seats in the legislative assembly while PAS has 43 seats.
PN’s main components are PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), while minority-centric parties Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) are considered minor players.
