Former PAS vice-president Mustafa Ali is unsure whether he will accept his appointment as the party's commissioner in Terengganu replacing party president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Describing it as a surprise, he told malaysiakini that he was now in a "fix" as he preferred to give his full attention to his current portfolio as PAS election committee head which is entrusted to formulate the party's election strategies.

"It's not really good news to me, you know," he chuckled when congratulated for the appointment. He said that Abdul Hadi - who had held the post since 1982 - had never indicated that he wanted to release the post to him.

"I was told about the appointment late last night and had difficulty believing it... because I made it clear to everybody in the party that I only want to focus on the election committee. In fact this was the reason why I chose not to contest for any posts in the party's recent election."

However, Mustafa declined to give a definite answer when asked whether he would turn down the appointment stating that he would only announce his final decision after receiving his letter of appointment.

"It would be inappropriate for me to make a decision before receiving anything in black and white. I really need to think about this and consult my associates."

A week before the party elections on June 4, Mustafa shocked party leaders and members with his announcement that he would not defend his veep post nor accept nominations for other posts.

He reasoned that it was to give way to newer faces to lead the party.

Four new state chiefs

Mustafa was among the four new state commissioners appointed by the party's central working committee who met last night to choose 13 state leaders.

Three other states with new commissioners are Federal Territory, Pahang and Johor which are now led by Muhammad Nor, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Dr Mahfodz Mohamad respectively.

The incumbent commissioners in nine other states have been re-appointed including in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Kedah where some resistance against the current leadership were heard.

Commenting on Mustafa's appointment, party secretary-general Kamaruddin Jaafar said it was to allow Abdul Hadi to concentrate on his leadership at the federal level.

"It is important for the president to focus on his duties at the federal level. Since Mustafa is no longer the vice-president, we believe that he can now help PAS Terengganu, apart from helping us with the election committee," he said.

"The decision was made unanimously by all central working committee members," he said.

Appointment welcomed

Asked if Abdul Hadi had a hand in Mustafa's appointment, Kamaruddin said the president was not involved in the decision-making process.

"It was an independent decision by the committee. The issue concerned the president and he was therefore excluded from the discussion. This is a standard practice."

He stressed that the decision was free from anyone's influence but admitted that Abdul Hadi had intimated to his close associates his wish to retire from helming Terengganu.

Meanwhile, division leaders in Terengganu were surprised with Mustafa's appointment but welcomed it anyway.

"We have always felt that the state needs someone who will not be distracted with other responsibilities but we never complained because we knew Ustaz Hadi was doing his best for us," said a Terengganu politician who declined to be named.

He was confident that Mustafa will be able to help the state recover by the next general election.