US embassy rejects PAS claim of 2014 coup offer

Photo courtesy of Free Malaysia Today

The US embassy has rejected a claim by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang that the United States offered the party help to topple Malaysia’s government in 2014.

Washington’s denial

David H Gamble Jr, the US charge d’affaires, said the United States had never sought to determine Malaysia’s political leadership. He said any account suggesting otherwise was false.

The response followed remarks by Hadi at the PAS muktamar, where he said the alleged approach was made during a meeting at the embassy while former US president Barack Obama was visiting Malaysia. Hadi said several PAS figures attended, including then assistant secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was his political secretary at the time.

A disputed account of 2014

According to Hadi, the representatives rejected the alleged offer. He also said a US ambassador later asked him separately about PAS’s proposed prime minister, prompting him to ask who America supported. The embassy’s statement directly disputes that account.

Malaysia’s political landscape changed four years later, when Barisan Nasional lost the 2018 general election to Pakatan Harapan amid a campaign dominated by the 1MDB scandal and allegations involving then prime minister Najib Razak. Mahathir Mohamad subsequently returned as prime minister.

What it means for foreigners in Malaysia

The exchange is a reminder that Malaysian politics can quickly be shaped by competing accounts of past events. For foreign residents, investors and visitors, it does not signal an immediate policy change, but it underlines the sensitivity of foreign influence claims in domestic political debate.

6 September 2026