KUALA LUMPUR — PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has claimed that a representative from the United States (US) Embassy once asked him who the party would nominate as prime minister during a meeting held at the embassy in Malaysia.
He said the meeting took place when PAS was still part of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, during then US president Barack Obama’s visit to Malaysia, local media reported.
“He asked, ‘Who does PAS propose as Prime Minister?’ I said, ‘Who does America agree?'”
Hadi made the claim during his winding-up speech at the 72nd PAS Annual Muktamar at the Pusat Tarbiah Islamiah Kelantan (PUTIK) in Pengkalan Chepa today.
He said PAS leaders Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and Datuk Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was his political chief at the time, had earlier met the US ambassador after the meeting was arranged.
Hadi claimed that during the meeting, the two PAS leaders were informed about the possibility of toppling the government and taking over the administration.
He further alleged that the US was prepared to assist the effort.
“However, Takiyuddin and Samsuri remained steadfast and were not influenced by the offer. Both our men remained steadfast. They were not influenced,” he said.
Abdul Hadi said the US ambassador later requested a meeting with him, which he attended alongside Datuk Mustafa Ali.
He claimed the issue of a potential prime minister was raised again during the meeting, but said he did not view the matter as a priority as the decision would only need to be made when the time was right.
“At that time, the Americans asked who the candidate they supported was, and the name of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was mentioned and received a positive response from them.
“I told them Mahathir. Mahathir? ‘That’s good,’ he replied. Why fuss over who it would be? When the time comes, there will be someone. What is important is that we do our work.
“This is what is important. We resolve the divisions, resolve the crisis. Go back and work, go back and carry out our duties,” he said.
Meanwhile, Takiyuddin confirmed after the muktamar that he and other PAS leaders had held a meeting with representatives from the US Embassy, as referred to by Abdul Hadi.
However, he stopped short of confirming all of Abdul Hadi’s claims regarding the contents of the discussions.
Takiyuddin said the embassy representative had asked whether PAS had any plans at the time to bring down the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
He said PAS did not provide any decision or position on the matter.
Takiyuddin also stressed that PAS had never sought intervention from any foreign country in Malaysia’s political affairs, including during BN’s administration.
“We do not expect intervention from foreign countries because our country’s politics belong to us, and there should be no foreign interference.
“If other parties want foreign intervention to bring down (the government), that is up to them. We do not,” he said. – September 5, 2026