Muhyiddin says opposition bloc PN will abolish chairman post, with new ‘presidential council’ headed by Bersatu

KUALA LUMPUR: In an unexpected turn of events, Malaysia’s opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) is set to abolish the chairman post previously held by Muhyiddin Yassin, as part of a move to “resolve the impasse” surrounding the appointment of his successor. 

This is part of a “structural overhaul” for the pact, Muhyiddin said in a letter dated Tuesday (Jan 27) addressed to the presidents of the three other PN component parties. 

PN was formed in February 2020 and is currently made up of four component parties: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS), Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP). The latter two are largely considered to be minor players in the coalition.

Muhyiddin, who announced his resignation from the chairman post effective Jan 1, said that under a new framework, PN will be managed by a Presidential Council that will be led by Bersatu and an Executive Council that would be headed by PAS. 

“The primary role of the Presidential Council is to serve as the highest decision-making body responsible for determining the policies of PN, while the Executive Council is tasked with administering PN in accordance with the policies set by the Presidential Council,” Muhyiddin wrote in the letter in his capacity as the president of Bersatu that was seen by CNA.

He noted that the leaders from Bersatu and PAS had reached an agreement on the matter during a Jan 16 meeting at his residence.

“The meeting took place in a very harmonious atmosphere and successfully produced results that I believe will further strengthen the unity between the member parties of PN.

“In fact, (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang, in his wisdom, initiated the discussion by emphasising that PN must remain a coalition of parties capable of attracting support from all segments of this country’s multi-racial society,” said Muhyiddin. 

The former prime minister noted that the creation of these two mutually reinforcing councils were essential to preserving the image of PN as a moderate national political coalition supported by Malaysia’s multi-racial society, including those in Sabah and Sarawak. 

“With this restructuring of PN, the position of PN chairman is abolished, and the matter of appointing a chairman no longer arises," he stressed. 

Muhyiddin’s announcement came amid issues plaguing the opposition coalition, which has seen the bloc’s top post vacant since Jan 1. 

In his letter on Tuesday, Muhyiddin acknowledged that PN’s deputy secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan had on Jan 24 issued an invitation notice for an extraordinary meeting of the PN Supreme Council scheduled for Jan 29, which he was not invited to.

He said that the notice listed - among other things - the appointment of a new PN chairman as one of the agendas for the meeting. 

“This agenda is inconsistent with the consensus reached by the top leadership of Bersatu and PAS on Jan 16, 2026, which was also agreed upon by the presidents of Gerakan and MIPP," Muhyiddin said in his letter. 

He said that in line with the spirit of consensus among the PN component parties that it was only appropriate that the meeting was cancelled. 

In its place, Muhyiddin invited all the presidents of PN’s component parties to a pre-council meeting at his residence scheduled for the same time and date. 

"Let us return to the path of consensus between us to resolve PN's internal crisis harmoniously,” he said.      

Following Muhyiddin’s letter, Takiyuddin had on Jan 27 issued a cancellation of the planned PN supreme council meeting. 

Earlier, Takiyuddin had during a press conference on Jan 23 dismissed suggestions that as Muhyiddin was still seen by some as technically still chairman of the coalition, not inviting him for the PN supreme council meeting had violated PN's constitution.

"While the resignation should only be effective after it is accepted by the PN supreme council, from a legal perspective, when the PN chairperson stepped down, and he stated a date when his resignation takes effect ... here he stated Jan 1, based on his own letter.

"So, from a legal perspective, it is functus officio, meaning it has taken effect. But it will still be taken to the PN supreme council for endorsement," Takiyuddin was quoted as saying by news site Malaysiakini.

Muhyiddin’s resignation as PN chairman followed a political crisis in the northeastern state of Perlis, whose state assembly is controlled by PN.

The upheaval saw PAS’ Sanglang assemblyman Mohd Shukri Ramli resigning as chief minister and Bersatu’s Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah replacing him in the post.

But Shukri’s resignation came after eight statutory declarations were signed by state assemblymen – three from PAS and five from Bersatu – retracting their support for him.

There are 15 seats in Perlis’ state assembly, and the three PAS assemblymen have since been sacked by the Islamist party. PAS holds six of the remaining seats, Bersatu holds five, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat holds one.

Following the upheaval in Perlis, PAS said that it would support the state government's stability but would refuse to join the state executive council in a sign of solidarity with the ousted Shukri.