KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) kicked off its general assembly amid heightened attention on the party’s choice for its prime ministerial candidate.

The spotlight on the assembly known as Muktamar comes at a time when its major partner Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia resolved to nominate its president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister if the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition wins in the next national election.

As it stands, PAS is keeping its cards close to its chest.

The Muktamar began on Thursday with the youth wing (Sept 11-12), followed by the women’s wing over the weekend (Sept 13-14), before culminating in the central assembly next week (Sept 15-16) at the Kedah Complex in Kota Sarang Semut.

PAS has not been shy about its growing influence, which has long irked moderate Malays and alarmed non-Malays with its hard-line stance on Islam. The party now has 43 members of Parliament, making it the single largest party in the Dewan Rakyat following the 2022 elections.

“It is only natural that PAS would not so secretly harbour its own prime ministerial ambition,” said Oh Ei Sun, a political analyst and the principal adviser at Pacific Research Center of Malaysia.

However, PAS is unlikely to disclose its prime ministerial candidate too soon to maintain “the albeit superficial collegiality” with Bersatu for as long as possible, at least until the time comes for seats negotiations, he said.

Further, PAS also “would like to both appease its conservative base and go for new supporters, and a candidate with a particular ideological propensity may alienate one or the other group”, Oh added.

Minor partners of PN, which also include Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) and Parti Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia (MIPP), have also refrained from naming a figurehead.

Even at joint rallies, such as the Turun Anwar protest months ago, leaders only stated that the opposition has a candidate without naming anyone.

“The people want to know who the next prime minister will be because they have lost faith in the one, they have now,” PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was quoted as saying to delegates.

The annual assembly is the party’s highest decision-making platform that allows nationwide delegates to debate and endorse its major policy or direction. 

Unlike other political parties’ annual general meetings where leadership challenges are the norm, the Muktamar is more about party unity and projection of strength. 

The top post in PAS is also rarely contested and deference to the president is paramount and perceived as devotion to Islam itself. 

“From being a rural kampung party, we have become a mainstream force. This is the result of steadfastness in our principles,” PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden reminded party delegates.

PAS is better off by letting Bersatu having the helm at the coalition, said Dr Wan Rohila Ganti Wan Abdul Ghapar, a senior lecturer at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin.

In her view, PAS gains influence not by holding the premiership but by shaping policy from within coalitions — particularly in areas of Islamisation and shariah expansion — while avoiding the scrutiny that comes with leading the government.

"PAS performs well in Malay-majority states but struggles in urban and multi-ethnic constituencies,” Wan Rohila said, stressing that a prime minister must lead a broad-based coalition acceptable to Sabah, Sarawak, and non-Malays in Peninsular Malaysia. “PAS leaders face rejection beyond their base,” she noted. 

Bersatu’s decision to reaffirm Muhyiddin as its leader was not without turbulence. At the party’s eighth annual general assembly last weekend, Muhyiddin disclosed that poison-pen letters and signature campaigns had been circulating in an attempt to unseat him as president.

The revelation sparked heated debate on the floor. While a small fraction of delegates called for his resignation, the majority rallied in support, chanting “Hidup Tan Sri”.

Meanwhile, deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has declared his loyalty to the party, while secretary general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali offered a forceful defence of Muhyiddin’s leadership, recalling the latter’s role during the Covid-19 crisis.

“Our president is calm, a true gentleman. But remember — calm waters still hide predators. He is not the crocodile they fear, he is the wolf they underestimate,” Azmin said during the assembly.