Perikatan Nasional (PN) has officially formed its presidential council comprising the heads of the opposition coalition’s four components, says PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
Tuan Ibrahim said the proposal was submitted to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) and has been approved, Berita Harian reported.
“The presidential council now exists (officially) to resolve matters that remain deadlocked at the Supreme Council level. The council will have the final say,” he was quoted as saying.
“For example, before the last general election, although the RoS had yet to approve the proposal, we had already set up the council internally.”
He said that if an issue cannot be resolved at the committee level, and even the states cannot decide, it is then escalated to the PN presidential council for a decision.
“This is important because not every matter can be settled at the lower level. Some issues require detailed discussion and careful consideration, and that is the role of the presidential council,” the Kubang Kerian MP said.
On July 10, it was reported that PAS proposed that PN establish the presidential council to oversee the coalition while an executive committee would take on the task of “championing issues”.
It was previously reported that PAS had proposed restructuring PN to make Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin the head of an executive committee that manages the coalition’s day-to-day affairs.
Under the reported plan, the presidents of PAS, Bersatu, Gerakan, and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) would form an advisory council while retaining their roles on the PN Supreme Council.
However, analysts said that PAS’s proposal for the presidential council was likely a calculated move to dilute the influence of coalition chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
Tuan Ibrahim today dismissed such speculation, and sttessed that the question of undermining Muhyiddin‘s role within the coalition did not arise.
“The council simply does not meet frequently. It convenes only when new issues emerge. It is not like the Supreme Council, which holds meetings every month,” he said.
