Malaysian Parliament: New opposition chief post to be held by Islamic Party leader

MALAYSIA: As of this month, the official opposition leader in the Malaysian Parliament will be held by a “moderate” leader from the Islamic party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).

Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the Chief Minister of Terengganu, was named to replace a former Bersatu leader as the opposition’s chief.

The post was occupied by a Bersatu party leader, Hamzah Zainuddin, until his ousting from the party by former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Hamzah was the deputy leader of Bersatu, the party formed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2016 in his bid to topple now jailed former PM Najib Razak.

Mahathir was subsequently abandoned by the party in 2020, causing him to lose his majority in Parliament, and this led to the collapse of the first Pakatan Harapan regime in Malaysia.

According to reports, Hamzah was one of the leaders who backed the removal of support for Mahathir in 2020 and in 2025, he was sacked by the party.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that a PAS leader has held the post of opposition leader. Fadzil Noor served as Opposition Leader from 1999 to 2002 while leading the Barisan Alternatif coalition created by Anwar Ibrahim.

He was succeeded by Abdul Hadi Awang as both PAS president and Opposition Leader from 2002 to 2004.

While Hadi Awang is considered the most conservative among the PAS leaders who served as opposition leader, Samsuri is seen as a technocrat who is steering Terengganu into a new era.

Some analysts are saying the PAS’s positioning of Samsuri as the Opposition Leader in Parliament means the Islamists are strengthening their grip both in and out of Parliament.

PAS is also leading the PN group with Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as its chairman. He replaced Muhyiddin, who resigned as Chairman after a series of squabbles within his party and within the PN coalition.

PAS is now the dominant force in PN and is the dominant opposition force in Parliament. Before this, they stayed in the shadows of Muhyiddin in both PN and in the august house.

On the other hand, this month’s visit by former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong to Terengganu appears to be of very significant importance to the state and its leader.

In a post on Facebook on May 8, Lee wrote that he had a brief visit to the oil-producing state.

He said he had a ‘good’ meeting with Samsuri and other state leaders in what he stated as a ‘meaningful’ visit.

“We had a robust discussion on areas of cooperation, including tourism and environmental sustainability, and agreed that Singapore and Terengganu can do more together for the mutual benefit of our peoples.

“In the evening, we had dinner with Terengganu State Excos, officials, and GLC leaders. We had candid discussions on ongoing efforts to grow the economy, as well as Singapore–Terengganu ties.

“Before dinner, I went on a #jalanjalan along Pantai Seberang Takir, taking in the calm scenery and coastal views.”

He certainly looks forward, as well as Samsuri, we can guess, to a fruitful cooperation and a strengthening of the relationship.