KEMAMAN: Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is not ruling out the possibility of Terengganu menteri besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar helming the country in the future.
Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, praised Ahmad Samsuri as a leader with a lot of promise and a bright future not just in Terengganu but also at the federal level.
"The time will come. We hope to win big in the next general election to form the government.
"All the measures taken now are part of a strategic approach that will give the people that we have a lot of promising leaders with the ability, moderate attitude and professionalism. This is the kind of personality he (Ahmad Samsuri) is… he will be able to attract support from voters.
"I believe the move by the Pas leadership to pick him (Ahmad Samsuri) as the parliamentary seat candidate was a strategic move which will be good for both Pas and PN," he told reporters after the santai petang programme at Felda Kerteh 5 here today.
He was responding to a question on whether Ahmad Samsuri could be the next prime minister after saying that Dr Sam was the best choice for Putrajaya.
Muhyiddin visited the constituency as part of his campaign for PN in the Kemaman by-election. Polling is on Dec 2.
The Kemaman parliamentary seat by-election is a straight fight between Barisan Nasional's Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor and Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was picked to represent Pas.
The by-election was called following the decision of the Terengganu Election Court on Sept 26 to annul the victory of Pas candidate Che Alias Hamid in the 15th general election.
On Nov 26, Pas deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man hinted that the party had bigger plans ahead for Ahmad Samsuri when they decided to pick him to contest in Kemaman and wanted him to contribute to the country in a bigger capacity.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin described Ahmad Samsuri as a big name in Terengganu and Pas (serving as Pas vice-president) with the qualities, and qualifications to win the battle in Kemaman.
"I believe voters in Kemaman know him better, especially his contributions towards the state. He is among the leaders with a bright future not only in Terengganu but also at federal-level.
"Picking the menteri besar as a member of parliament will enable him to play a bigger role in national politics," he said.
Muhyiddin described the by-election as crucial, saying it is held after the state elections to determine whether voter support for the PN, particularly among Malays, remained strong.
"PN recorded a huge voter turnout during the state elections (Terengganu) and now we are facing another test in Kemaman… I believe we can achieve a bigger majority and voters will make an effort to come out to vote," he said.