Dr Sam: Tanggapan pertama belum menceritakan segalanya

Dr Sam, also known as Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, is a political figure who recently appeared in a program called Peace and Harmony, organized by the PAS Ulama Council. This was the first time many of the 200-plus audience members, particularly those from non-Islamic backgrounds, had a close encounter with a rising political figure in national politics.

According to Terence Netto, Dr Sam is calm, affable, and has potential, but is still insufficiently convincing. While one hour-long speech cannot answer all questions about a political leader, it is the limit of a first impression. To truly understand who the next Terengganu Menteri Besar is, evaluation should not stop at a single evening in Shah Alam.

It needs to move from impression to records, from personality to performance, and from speech to leadership experience. Samsuri has been governing Terengganu as Menteri Besar since 2018, a period that provided ample opportunity to assess his approach and leadership capabilities. Governing a state is more than delivering a good speech; it means addressing the economy, finance, development, investment, public welfare, infrastructure, and relations with the federal government.

Terengganu's record provides clear measurements. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the state's economy grew by 4.5% in 2024, up from 2.2% the previous year. The state's GNI value rose to around RM39.9 billion during the same period. In the same year, the construction sector grew by 17.5%, while the service and manufacturing sectors each grew by 4.0% and 3.9%, respectively.

However, a state's size should not be limited to GDP. On August 11, 2026, the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) through the Malaysia Open Budget Index (MyOBI) 2026 placed Terengganu as the best state in Malaysia in terms of budget transparency. This recognition is significant as it comes from a free research institution.

MyOBI assesses how transparent a state's budget information is to the public, in addition to looking at legislative oversight and public participation aspects. Another interesting indicator is the Malaysia Happiness Index (MHI) 2024, published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia in September 2025. Terengganu appears as the happiest state in Malaysia with a score of 8.64, the highest in the country.

Interestingly, several districts in Terengganu also reported high happiness scores, including Marang, Setiu, Kuala Nerus, and Kemaman. Happiness, of course, is not a measure of political popularity, and economic indicators alone do not mean all problems are solved. However, when someone wants to be evaluated as a future top leader, indicators such as economic growth, budget transparency, and public welfare provide a more substantive picture than just political personality perceptions.

From Terengganu to Kemaman, Samsuri's journey to another significant phase as he contested in the PRK Kemaman on December 2023. He received 64,998 votes and won by a margin of 37,220 votes. Such a large mandate is hard to ignore when reading his political standing. Winning brought him from the realm of state administration to the national stage as a Member of Parliament.

If Terengganu gave him experience in governing a state, Kemaman brought him into a space where he needed to speak about broader issues: national economy, cost of living, education, job opportunities, manpower, technology, and federal-state relations. Now, as the Chairman of the Perikatan Nasional (PN), the scale of the challenge has become even greater.

He is no longer just the Menteri Besar of Terengganu or the MP for Kemaman. He leads a coalition that wants to offer itself as an alternative in national politics. Malaysia needs a bridgebuilder. That message in the Peace and Harmony program was significant. Speaking about Malaysia as a home for all, acceptance of cultural diversity, and the responsibility of religious leaders to be bridgebuilders, is crucial.

Of course, one speech cannot erase all concerns or doubts about PAS and PN, particularly among non-Muslim communities. But building trust does not happen in a single evening. It requires dialogue, interaction, and a willingness to listen. Most importantly, words about harmony need to be translated into action and leadership approach.

Malaysia cannot be governed by understanding just one group of society. A national leader must understand the concerns of Malays but also provide confidence to all citizens, including Chinese, Indian, Sabah, Sarawak, and other communities, that they have a place in the country's future.