KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Kota Baru Parti Amanah Negara chief Datuk Husam Musa reportedly said he is ready to step down from contesting the 15th general election in order to coach and guide younger candidates from the party.

The Malaysian Insight (TMI) reported the former Kelantan Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief saying that competing in elections in no longer his focus as there are young candidates that he said are more competent, honest, and of quality.

"I will support them completely. It doesn’t have to be me. We are like a football team, the coach doesn’t necessarily play football, he cannot run and can’t even score a goal, better for him to train other boys to play football.

"The important thing is to score goals. The team wins and the stadium is full," he was quoted saying.

Husam had joined Amanah after he was sacked from the Islamist party PAS and is among the party's most senior members.

Previously, Husam had served as Kubang Kerian MP (1999-2004), Kijang state rep (2004-2008), and Salor state rep (2008-2018). He was also a senator (2018-2021).

The 62-year-old told TMI that the decision to end his political career is due to his age and not his differences with other leaders in Amanah.

"My resignation [as vice-president] was because I am old, I am almost retired from politics. But I am still the Kota Baru Amanah chairman. It is like I used to herd buffalos in a large field but as I grow older, I now herd 20 to 30 chickens,” he said.

Husam said he remains loyal to Amanah but has zero intention to stay active at the federal level.

He added that he is focused on the "Save Kelantan" movement to cater to the plight of the eastern coast state and the weaknesses of the state government.

In addition, Husam said (PH) needs the support of Kelantanese voters to take over the state which PAS has ruled since 1990.

Using the last general election as an example, Husam said that PH failed to win over the state despite the poor sentiment against PAS' rivals Umno and he believed voters were left without a choice but to continue voting for PAS.

"However, they see that PH still cannot get full support in Kelantan and they felt if in three-cornered contests, Umno will win. So they voted for PAS on purpose, the intention was not to allow Umno to win,” he reportedly said.