PERIKATAN Nasional has finalised its candidate for the position of opposition leader, said Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
According to the PAS deputy president, while confirming this, has declined to divulge the name of the person picked for the job.
He said the announcement – and whether the candidate would be from Bersatu or PAS – would be made known before the Dewan Rakyat starts sitting on Dec 19.
“PN has already decided and will announce its decision to the media before the Dewan Rakyat starts sitting,” he told Berita Harian
Meanwhile, the Malay daily also quoted Bachok MP Syahir Sulaiman, who is the political secretary to PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, as saying that Hadi’s name was among those nominated for the position.
“The PN Supreme Council has made a decision and Hadi – who was present at the meeting – was also among those who had nominated the name of the candidate,” he was reported as saying.
A number of political analysts had previously pointed out that Tuan Ibrahim – who is a former Environment and Water minister – was the best man for the job as he has the experience as a minister and was well-liked by many parties.
The Malay daily further noted that the people do not merely want a rhetorical and outspoken opposition leader but someone who can act rationally in carrying out his duties.
By tradition, the Leader of the Opposition comes from the party who wins the most parliamentary seats in the general election.
In this case, PAS bagged 49 seats in the 15th General Election (GE15) – the most of any individual party and almost a three-fold increase from the 2018 polls.
Together, PAS and fellow PN component Bersatu made a clean sweep of the seats in Kelantan and Terengganu, winning 14 in the former and eight in the latter. – Dec 9, 2022
