PH leadership to meet today to decide political direction

PUTRAJAYA – The Pakatan Harapan (PH) will hold a Presidential Council meeting today, to discuss several current political matters, including the direction of the unity government, following developments that have affected relations between the parties in the coalition.

It is understood the meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Perdana Putra building here at 5.30pm, today.

Attention is now focused on the direction of PH's relationship with Barisan Nasional (BN) after Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi raised questions about the future of the cooperation during the 2026 Umno General Assembly, recently.

In his closing speech at the annual gathering on Sept 12, Zahid offered two options should any party wish to end cooperation with Umno, which were to seek a fresh mandate through a General Election or formally remove Umno from the unity government through a vote of no confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.

Zahid also challenged those wanting to end cooperation with the party to act immediately, including dissolving Parliament to seek a fresh mandate from the people.

However, after the assembly, Zahid stressed that Umno and BN were taking a professional approach in dealing with differences of opinion with other parties in the unity government, while stating their commitment to remain with the government until the end of its term.

That statement subsequently drew the attention of DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who suggested the PH Presidential Council hold a meeting to discuss the political developments.

Loke said certain statements made at the Umno General Assembly had raised concerns over the country's political certainty and stability and could potentially affect investor and public confidence.

He felt that Anwar needed to clarify the developments to all government component parties to ensure the administration's direction was clear and that all parties were moving in the same direction.

Following this, this evening's PH Presidential Council meeting is seen as an important gathering for the coalition's leadership to align their position on current political developments, including relations with BN within the unity government.

Sinar is contacting several PH political leaders for confirmation.