Cold war between Hadi and Muhyiddin?

Cold war between Hadi and Muhyiddin?

PETALING JAYA: Ties between Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and his PAS counterpart Abdul Hadi Awang have reportedly turned frosty, with the two leaders said to be at odds over the matter of Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) prime ministerial candidate.

A source familiar with the issue said the relationship turned cold following Muhyiddin’s “U-turn” on defending his presidency at the Bersatu polls, which scuttled PAS’s plans to push its vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as the opposition’s candidate for prime minister in the next general election.

According to the source, Muhyiddin’s about-turn at the Bersatu general meeting in November was seen as an attempt by the Pagoh MP to keep hold of the PN chairmanship and subsequently be appointed as the next prime minister.

The source said that Muhyiddin and Hadi, the PN deputy chairman, had not been seen sharing the same stage since the PAS muktamar last October.

While Muhyiddin was scheduled to appear with Hadi for a ceramah on the eve of the Kemaman by-election in December, it was Bersatu vice-president Radzi Jidin who eventually represented the party, the source added.

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“It’s been a while since they last met,” the source told FMT.

Another source who asked to remain anonymous said Hadi was no longer attending PN meetings, but was being represented by his deputy, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

“While it (Hadi’s absence) does not affect PN as a whole, it says a lot about their (Hadi and Muhyiddin’s) relationship.”

The source compared the situation to the “death” of Muafakat Nasional (MN), the electoral pact forged between PAS and Umno in 2019 to woo the Malay electorate.

Then, too, Hadi had not attended meetings with Umno, the source said. Instead, he sent Tuan Ibrahim in his place after ties between the two largest Malay parties became strained.

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The cracks between Umno and PAS had formed following the latter’s objection to Bersatu joining MN.

“MN began to crumble when Hadi stopped attending meetings, and when he and (Umno president Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) did not meet over a long period of time.”

The source said history was now repeating itself with Hadi and Muhyiddin.

If PN suffered the same fate as MN, the source added, there would be severe repercussions for the country’s political landscape.

“But it presents an opportunity for the prime minister’s allies as there is a weak spot (in PN).”

The source also said that many in PAS believed Bersatu was weak following the move by six of its MPs to declare support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.