Time for PAS to take over opposition leader role, says Puad

A former Umno leader has suggested that PAS take over the role of opposition leader from Hamzah Zainudin, describing the Wawasan president as unimpressive during the debate on the 2027 budget.

Former Batu Pahat MP Puad Zarkashi said Hamzah failed to offer new proposals or policies in his budget debate, only mentioning the need for an “engine of high-impact economic growth”.

“Hamzah himself didn’t mention what economic engine would be in store if PAS and Wawasan come to power.

“Now is the time for PAS to take over the position of opposition leader and put forth its own poster boy,” he said in a Facebook post.

He claimed PAS was keeping Hamzah in the position for now to retain the backing of Wawasan while shoring up support for the Islamic party, with the goal of wielding dominance over Umno.

Puad said the opposition also failed to present an alternative budget, unlike Rafizi Ramli’s Bersama which unveiled a “shadow budget” last week.

Nonetheless, the former Umno Supreme Council member said Rafizi missed the opportunity to raise the party’s budget in Parliament, since he and other Bersama leaders had all resigned as MPs.

“Rafizi is irresponsible. He resigned because he was selfish. He was fearful of the implications of the anti-hopping law and the RM10 million party bond (as a PKR MP).”

Hamzah has been opposition leader since December 2022 although he stepped down for a short period from April to June following his sacking by Bersatu.

PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the Perikatan Nasional chairman, took over the role before Hamzah returned as opposition leader in June.