Hamzah, the Bersatu deputy president, recalled how Mahathir’s endorsement of Anwar had convinced him and many others to support the former deputy prime minister.
“During my Umno Youth days, when you looked at Anwar, you saw him as an idol – probably not just me, but the whole country.
“Even Mahathir gave him his blessing, which convinced us (he was worth looking up to),” he said on the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by former Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.
However, Hamzah said he later distanced himself from Anwar upon realising that “he was not the man I thought he was”.
“That was the separation,” he said.
‘I never dreamed of being an MP, Pak Lah got me into politics’
Hamzah said he had never aspired to become an elected representative but was persuaded to enter politics by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, more fondly known as Pak Lah.
The former minister said he had known Abdullah since he was in university and considered him a mentor.
“I didn’t want to be an MP, but Pak Lah called me to contest. He wanted a winnable candidate,” he said. “I was involved in business, so my perspective was different from that of politicians.”
Responding to Khairy’s assertion that he was widely regarded as a political “operator” who could always resolve an issue, Hamzah acknowledged his reputation but dismissed the label.
“Many enter politics with ambitions to be leaders, but I never planned for that. My attitude remains the same. Who should I help? How should I solve problems? The operations I carry out remain the same.
“The difference is that back then, I operated for top leaders. Now, I operate for my religion, race, and the people,” he said. - FMT
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