PETALING JAYA: A Bersatu Youth leader today claimed that PAS had attempted to undermine his party and have Hamzah Zainudin’s Wawasan supplant it in Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Harris Idaham Rashid alleged that PAS leaders had pushed for Bersatu to be sidelined, and Wawasan elevated in the coalition.
"But the plan failed following PN’s deregistration by the Registrar of Societies (RoS)," the Bersatu Youth information chief said in a statement.
Harris also defended Bersatu’s complaint to the RoS, saying it complied with the rules after its representatives were denied the right to attend, speak and vote at PN’s Supreme Council meeting on July 16.
He said Bersatu put forward eight grounds relating to the alleged violation of PN’s constitution, including the denial of its representatives' voting rights, the absence of a valid meeting notice, an allegedly defective quorum, and appointments to key positions without unanimous agreement among component parties.
Harris also accused the PN leadership of changing the coalition’s organisational structure without formal approval from its Supreme Council and excluding a major component party from decisions on policy and direction.
Bersatu’s alleged backstabbing
Harris dismissed claims by Wawasan information chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal that Bersatu had betrayed PN by lodging the complaint.
Wan Fayhsal, a former Bersatu Supreme Council member, accused the party of engineering PN’s deregistration after losing its leadership positions in the coalition, allegedly to pave the way for an alliance with Pakatan Harapan.
However, Harris maintained that Bersatu's complaint was justified, arguing that the party’s rights were denied during the July 16 meeting.
He also suggested that Wan Fayhsal's accusations were linked to Wawasan’s survival.
"Wawasan has little political traction without PN as its platform. The party's attempt to ride on the coalition’s popularity for its own political survival has backfired."