Shields up, Dr Sam! You’re in the hot seat now

2026-03-03 - 00:14

In their bid to wrest control of the government, an ulama-dominated PAS did the “unthinkable”, by naming Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, or Dr Sam as the technocrat is popularly known, to be chairman of Perikatan Nasional. What does this say about his party’s Putrajaya ambitions? They are pretty darn serious. But how serious are they about adapting a moderate approach in politics to win over non-Malays and secure a more comfortable majority? Well, you got me there. Will Samsuri have a hard time with Bersatu and its president Muhyiddin Yasin and secretary-general Azmin Ali pushing to regain the spotlight in PN and also soon the prime ministership? I imagine so. Will Samsuri also have a hard time with sceptics who think he is just Hadi’s “errand boy”? You bet. But the million dollar question really is: who will be Samsuri’s real nemesis? Hands down, PAS itself. It all boils down to why Samsuri was chosen as PN chairman in the first place. Political calculations I think that Muhyiddin (and by large his camp) acceded to PAS naming a vice-president for