Perikatan Nasional chairperson Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has been appointed as the new parliamentary opposition leader, replacing Larut MP Hamzah Zainudin.

PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan confirmed this in a statement, following a meeting with top coalition leaders at the Royale Chulan hotel in Kuala Lumpur earlier today.

Samsuri, who is also the Terengganu menteri besar and Kemaman MP, chaired the meeting.

Hamzah, formerly the Bersatu deputy president, was expelled from the party with 16 others on Feb 13 for allegedly contravening the party’s constitution.

Despite being sacked from Bersatu, Hamzah and MPs aligned with him have pledged to back PN, but talks on who will replace him as the opposition leader intensified.

Samsuri replaced Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as PN chief on Feb 22 after the latter resigned following the Perlis menteri besar crisis, which saw Bersatu Perlis chief Abu Bakar Hamzah taking over as MB following PAS’ Shukri Ramli's resignation.

The parliamentary opposition leader’s post was previously elevated to ministerial level during Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration, and comes complete with perks.

Open to deals

Takiyuddin also announced PN’s readiness to establish an electoral pact with parties that share the coalition’s ideals.

“In principle, we’re ready to have an electoral pact with selected parties that share the same struggle and interest with PN,” the Kota Bharu MP added.

The PAS leader also announced a list of state PN leaders, except for Negeri Sembilan, as follows:

  • Perlis: Shahidan Kassim

  • Kedah: Sanusi Nor

  • Penang: Dominic Lau

  • Perak: Ahmad Faizal Azumu

  • Selangor: Azmin Ali

  • Malacca: Radzi Jidin

  • Johor: Sahruddin Jamal

  • Pahang: Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man

  • Terengganu: Alias Razak

  • Kelantan: Ahmad Yakob

  • Sabah: Aliakbar Gulasan

  • Sarawak: Jaziri Alkaf Abdillah Suffian

  • Federal Territories: Radzi Jidin

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