Samsuri downplays talk of Pas-Bersatu tensions after Mahkota defeat

Pas vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has downplayed speculation of strained relations between Pas and Bersatu following Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) defeat in the Mahkota by-election last Saturday.

(NST) – Samsuri, who is also the Terengganu Menteri Besar, dismissed concerns of rising issues between the two parties.

He said Pas and Bersatu remain committed to working together, adding that no political partnership is flawless.

“I don’t want to say we’re perfect because no organisation is perfect. But the truth is that there is no serious matter we can’t handle.

“To me, this is just a normal situation that we can manage as we strengthen the cooperation within PN,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

During the Mahkota by-election campaign, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi claimed that Pas was not fully committed to securing votes for PN, a situation similar to the Kuala Kubu Baru by-election.

Samsuri had brushed aside these claims.

In the Mahkota contest, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah secured a decisive victory, defeating PN’s Haizan Jaafar with a majority of 20,648 votes.

Speculation of an internal crisis between Pas and Bersatu has been cited as among the reasons for PN’s defeat.

Ilham Centre chief researcher Mohd Yusri Ibrahim said that internal disagreements contributed to the coalition’s poor performance.

Samsuri, however, downplayed the significance of by-election results as a gauge for political support.

He said BN had won two by-elections convincingly before the 2018 general election, only to lose control of the federal government for the first time in history.

“So this proves that by-elections are not an accurate measure of actual (political) strength,” he said.