PN announces state chiefs as Umno hawks continue quit campaign

Perikatan Nasional (PN) today announced the appointment of its chiefs in 14 states, as the ruling coalition consolidates its strength in the face of hawks within Umno trying to engineer a withdrawal of the Malay party from the government.

The list of state chiefs includes current menteris besar under the PN state governments, all of whom are Bersatu and PAS leaders.

Among others, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will helm his home state of Johor, while senior minister Mohamed Azmin Ali will lead in Selangor, where he was once the MB.

The announcement comes as Umno hawks gather division leaders today to convince them to quit the PN government, continuing their narrative that the party is being sidelined.

Former president Najib Razak and his successor Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are leading the pack, ahead of a Supreme Council meeting tomorrow to decide on Umno’s future political alliance.

With 39 MPs, Umno needs the combined strength of DAP, PKR and Amanah if it hopes to form the government, a move likely to fail amid signs of an implosion from Umno leaders who have rejected cooperation with Pakatan Harapan.

Umno and PAS also appear to be heading for a breakup, amid incessant criticism of the Islamist party over its refusal to leave PN.

PN, comprising Bersatu, PAS and several Sabah and Sarawak parties, was formed in February last year, bringing together political parties which lent their support to Muhyiddin to form the government following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration.

Umno and Gabungan Parti Sarawak are not members of the coalition although they have expressed their support for the PN government.

The full list of PN state chiefs is as follows:

Johor: Muhyiddin Yassin
Terengganu: Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar
Selangor: Azmin Ali
Kelantan: Ahmad Yakob
Perak: Ahmad Faizal Azumu
Kedah: Muhammad Sanusi Nor
Sabah: Hajiji Noor
Pahang: Saifuddin Abdullah
Negeri Sembilan: Eddin Syazlee Shith
Penang: Shabudin Yahaya
Perlis: Mohd Shukri Ramli
Melaka: Rafiq Naizamohideen
Sarawak: Jaziri Alkaf Abdillah Suffian
Federal Territories: Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya