A brief uproar ensued in the Dewan Rakyat today after opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin responded to Khoo Poay Tiong (PH–Kota Melaka) over who Perikatan Nasional’s prime ministerial candidate would be.
Khoo had asked Hamzah who PN would name as prime minister if it came to power, saying voters had the right to know.
Hamzah, who initially dismissed the question, later replied: “If you really want to know, all of us here (in PN) already know who the prime ministerial candidate is. If Kota Melaka (Khoo) wants to know, he should join PN.
“Even if I tell him, it’s not like he’s going to vote for us anyway,” he quipped while debating the Supply (Budget) Bill 2026.
The question of PN’s prime ministerial candidate or “poster boy” for the 16th general election has long been a point of contention among its component parties.
In November last year, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin denied that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had been confirmed as PN’s official pick, insisting that PAS should lead the coalition.
Still, several leaders from Bersatu and Gerakan have continued to back Muhyiddin as PN’s preferred choice for prime minister.
At Bersatu’s annual general assembly last month, Muhyiddin was named the party’s 11th prime ministerial candidate.
However, on Oct 1, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the party had never nominated anyone from PN, including Hamzah, for the post.
