Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin has been summoned for the second time by the party’s disciplinary board over allegations of misconduct against party president Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to a disciplinary board notice leaked to the media, the board had received four separate complaints regarding Hamzah’s alleged misconduct, three of which had been filed on Feb 5 last week, including another complaint dated Sept 30 last year.
“On Jan 28, the respondent also made a public statement saying: ‘I was not even invited (to Muhyiddin’s house), so how am I supposed to attend?’ while answering media enquiries at the Dewan Rakyat.
“(This is) a statement which has tarnished the image of the party president as well as the image of the party as a whole,” reads an excerpt from the notice, signed by Bersatu disciplinary board chairperson Radzi Manan.
The complaints from Feb 5 also note that Hamzah (above) had allegedly been involved in conspiring against Muhyiddin by collecting statutory declarations to manipulate the resolutions of a party retreat in Gopeng, referring to a purported agreement that Muhyiddin would decide on a succession plan.
Hamzah is also accused of attempting to sabotage the party’s 2025 annual general assembly and had allegedly thwarted a debate motion to retain Muhyiddin’s role as party president and as prime ministerial candidate.
The disciplinary board also outlined a complaint it had received from Sept 30, regarding Hamzah’s purported failure to prevent expelled party member Wan Saiful Wan Jan, and several others, from “plotting to cause disruption and sabotage” during the party’s annual general assembly last year.
It also noted that Hamzah had failed to prevent other party members from making statements which have embarrassed the party president and attacked the party’s leadership.
Yesterday, two Bersatu supreme council members - Kuala Selangor Bersatu division chief Harrison Hassan and Kuala Langat Bersatu chief Rosnizan Ahmad - separately urged the party’s disciplinary board to probe the allegations of “anti-Muhyiddin” actions conducted by Hamzah.
The division chiefs’ statements came amid speculations of fresh internal attempts to push for the Larut MP’s sacking through a “petition” allegedly circulated among the party’s elected representatives and division chiefs.
Possible postponement?
According to the disciplinary board letter, Hamzah is supposed to give his statement at the party’s headquarters on Feb 12.
However, Malaysiakini was informed that the Bersatu deputy president is abroad.
When contacted about the scheduling clash, his office said that it would be “up to the disciplinary board to decide” and declined to confirm if Hamzah had responded to the notice.
Separately, a source from the Bersatu leadership also told Malaysiakini that the hearing date will “depend on circumstances”.
“If he is abroad, we can wait. It shouldn’t be a problem… The disciplinary board will act fairly if there is a response saying he cannot attend, so we are willing to wait until a different date,” the source said.
However, the notice stated that failure to attend the meeting would allow the disciplinary board to proceed without further reference, according to Clause 22.5 of the party’s constitution.
‘Failure to discipline his followers’
Hamzah has long been accused of supporting efforts to oust Muhyiddin. This is despite the Bersatu deputy president making a public show of loyalty to the party president and saying that he would wait for Muhyiddin to hand over control.
In a leaked recording from Wan Saiful’s disciplinary hearing last year, a voice believed to be Radzi tried to link Hamzah to the anti-Muhyiddin movement.
Muhyiddin’s critics have sought to oust him over concerns that the party would lose public support without fresh leadership.
Besides Wan Saiful, the party has also sacked Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin Abdullah and suspended Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.
Yesterday, Bersatu supreme council member Dr Afif Bahardin had also urged Hamzah to act against the trio who continue to sit on Perikatan Nasional’s bench in Parliament.
Failure to do so, Afif warned, risks creating the perception that Hamzah is rejecting the party’s disciplinary decision “to protect these people”.
Besides Hamzah, Bersatu party’s disciplinary board plans to summon at least five division leaders on Feb 12, based on complaints surrounding their alleged links to remarks that had tarnished the party’s reputation.
These include Dungun Bersatu chief Abdul Aziz Ismail and Hulu Langat Bersatu information chief Shafiq Abdul Halim, Ahmad Nasir Mid (Selayang), Zulkifli Bujang (Johor Bahru), and Ramlan Meon (Tangga Batu), each linked to separate incidents reportedly critical of party president Muhyiddin. - Mkini
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