KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has always upheld the principle of equal partnership and welcomed diverse views among its component parties, said its secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
Dismissing remarks that certain groups in the coalition had been making decisions without consulting its partners, Azmin said all parties in the coalition were free to voice their opinions and that such diversity should be seen as the coalition’s strength rather than a weakness.
“This diversity of opinion is PN’s strength, and every view will be brought to the PN Supreme Council for discussion and decision,” he said when contacted by the New Straits Times today.
He was responding to remarks by Pas spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin, who said there had been instances of certain groups in the coalition making decisions without consulting its partners.
Azmin, who is also Bersatu secretary-general, said this approach had been the practice since the coalition’s formation and would continue to be upheld.
“The spirit of consultation will bring victory to the people.”
Yesterday, Hashim backed the call for Pas to lead PN and name its prime ministerial candidate, adding that the party should spearhead the coalition based on its current political strength.
Hashim also said there were instances where some component parties in PN felt that they could simply make announcements without consulting their partners.
His remarks came in the wake of the recent Bersatu general assembly, where the party’s wings united in calling for Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to be nominated as the party’s prime ministerial candidate, despite alleged attempts to push him to step down as party leader.
PN is led by Muhyiddin, who serves as the opposition coalition’s chairman, while Pas president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang holds the position of deputy chairman.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
