KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 15 — Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has denied that his resignation as Perikatan Nasional (PN) treasurer-general was due to a rift within the political coalition.

According to Utusan Malaysia, Samsuri, who is also a PAS vice-president, stated that his resignation was unrelated to the decision of Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) to leave PN, which was announced yesterday.

Instead, the Kemaman MP emphasised that PN is focused on strengthening the coalition to create a more unified political alliance in preparation for the upcoming election in two years.

"There has been no rift (as the reason for the resignation). I can say that, there has been no rift at all,” he told the Malay language daily.

"SAPP leaving PN is a separate issue. (The resignation) has nothing to do with what happened in Sabah,” he added after attending the 5th Imaratul Ilmi event at Kolej Al-Quran Terengganu today.

When asked whether the move was voluntary or due to pressure, Ahmad Samsuri stated that he preferred not to elaborate and would leave it to PAS’s top leadership to address.

"I think you can read my comment on Facebook, which I quoted from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you can interpret, interpret it from that,” he was quoted as saying.

In that post on December 11, he wrote: "I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing”.

It was reported that during its meeting on December 9, the PN Supreme Council confirmed the appointment of six key positions, all of which are still held by Bersatu. These include Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali as PN secretary-general, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu as information chief, and Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin as Women’s Chief.