KUALA TERENGGANU, December 15 - The resignation of Terengganu Menteri Besar, Dato' Seri Ir. Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, as Treasurer of Perikatan Nasional (PN) is a move to strengthen the party.

According to Ahmad Samsuri, who is also the Vice President of PAS, this action is not related to any internal rift within PN, as claimed by certain parties.

"There is no rift at all; instead, we are seeking the best way to strengthen PN so that it becomes a more robust political coalition before we face the elections in two years' time," he said.

He made these comments after the 5th Imaratul Ilmi event at the Terengganu Quran College (KQT) at the Islamic Civilization Park Convention Center (TTI) here earlier today.

In the meantime, Ahmad Samsuri also emphasized that his resignation has no connection to the decision of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to leave PN yesterday.

"There is no rift, that is a separate issue, and it has nothing to do with the Sabah party. The issue concerning the Sabah party is unrelated to the issues in Peninsular Malaysia," he said.

When asked if any other individuals would take similar action, Ahmad Samsuri said he had no information on the matter.

"I don't know, you can ask the individual concerned," he said.

Recently, he announced his resignation through a brief statement to the leadership of PAS Central and PN.