All eyes are on Bersatu headquarters in Petaling Jaya tonight as top party leaders gather for a supreme council meeting to be chaired by president Muhyiddin Yassin.
The meeting comes amid political developments that followed Muhyiddin’s resignation as Perikatan Nasional chairperson and within Bersatu, as well as among other component parties.
Earlier today, Perkasa president Syed Hassan Syed Ali, in a statement, cited “rumours” of alleged attempts to sack Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin during an undisclosed meeting tonight.
“If it is true as rumoured, I would not be surprised because one of the agendas of certain top leaders in Bersatu is to bring Bersatu to cooperate with (Pakatan) Harapan, and that objective would be achieved.
“Perhaps, they see Hamzah as an obstacle.
“Their move to weaken Hamzah’s influence within Bersatu’s top leadership has already succeeded when many supreme council members who supported Hamzah were earlier expelled,” Syed Hassan claimed, in reference to, among others, Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin Abdullah.
On Jan 6, Bersatu sacked Saifuddin from the party. According to a Bersatu disciplinary board letter, it stated that Saifuddin had contravened Clause 9.1.4 of the party's constitution, but did not mention the former minister’s specific offence.
This comes amid reports last year that Saifuddin had openly campaigned for Muhyiddin’s resignation as president.
When contacted, an aide to Hamzah said he sighted the alleged rumours, but declined further comments beyond confirming the Larut MP’s attendance at the meeting expected to start at 8pm.
During Bersatu’s eighth general assembly last year, Hamzah reiterated his loyalty to Muhyiddin, but allegations that he supported attempts to take over the party’s leadership persist until today.
Hamzah was also the target of two fake letters bearing the letterheads of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) that claimed he had resigned as the parliamentary opposition leader.
A denial from Hamzah’s office came on the same day Muhyiddin confirmed that he was stepping down as PN chairperson.
PN’s succession issue
Meanwhile, the Bersatu supreme council meeting tonight also comes ahead of a yet-to-be-called PN supreme council meeting to decide on Muhyiddin’s resignation as its chairperson, as well as his successor.
Earlier today, three PN Youth chiefs, excluding PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, had urged Muhyiddin to reconsider his resignation.
They argued the current PN constitution demands that only party presidents should assume the post, amid uncertainties from PAS, whose president Abdul Hadi Awang had staked the party’s claim to the post but declined to reveal a candidate.
The trio - Bersatu Youth chief Hilman Idham, Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP) Youth chief Justin Prabakaran, and Gerakan Youth chief Lee Boon Shian - had voiced their views to Muhyiddin during a two-hour meeting at his home.
From PAS, the party’s spiritual adviser Hashim Jasin also shared a photograph of his meeting with Muhyiddin and Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali last night.
Previously, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Moktar, among the figures speculated for the PN chairperson’s post, was the first to visit Muhyiddin following the Pagoh MP’s return to London. - Mkini
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