Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the Islamic party must project such leaders to counter the perception among non-Malays that PAS is an extremist party.

“What PAS needs is not just a vocal leader, but someone who is intellectual and moderate, especially to ease fears among non-Malay communities,” he told FMT.

Azmi was commenting on a recent move by Alor Setar PAS to nominate the party’s election director, Sanusi Nor, for the vice-president’s post ahead of the party elections in September.

PAS Dewan Ulama committee member Mokhtar Senik gave Sanusi’s nomination his “200%” support, citing the latter’s bold and outspoken nature.

Azmi said the majority of voters were likely to judge Sanusi based on his performance as Kedah menteri besar, particularly compared with other PAS-led states like Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

“In terms of development, Kedah is seen as on par with those three states,” he added.

Meanwhile, Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said Sanusi stood a strong chance of winning the vice-presidency although she expected the race for the position this time to be highly competitive.

“There’s no denying that he enjoys strong grassroots support, and that’s his biggest strength,” she said.

Sanusi declined nomination for the vice-president’s post during the 2023 party elections, saying he had already turned down the offer twice before.

The PAS vice-presidency is currently held by Kemaman MP Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Bagan Serai MP Idris Ahmad, and Kelantan state assembly speaker Amar Abdullah. None of the three was challenged in the last election.

Samsuri recently announced that he had decided not to defend his post of Marang PAS chief, to let new leaders take over the divisional post and to focus on preparations for the next general election.