Ahead of a decision by the Bersatu disciplinary board on a show-cause letter issued to him, party vice-president Ronald Kiandee expects he will end up in the same boat as Hamzah Zainudin, who was sacked as deputy president and expelled.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, the Beluran MP repeated claims that the disciplinary board has been transformed into a “political tool” to advance the agenda of a select few.
“The party now seems to exist only to elevate the president as the prime minister candidate, and anyone who questions this agenda must be removed from the party.
“They have already done this to Hamzah and several other leaders,” he claimed, referring to an internal purge last month which saw Hamzah and 16 others sacked from the party over various alleged offences.
On Feb 14, a day after the decision, Ronald hosted a function in which Hamzah launched his “Reset” movement, attended by hundreds of supporters, which sparked further resignations nationwide.
Before the function, Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali warned of disciplinary action against party members who attended any gathering in support of Hamzah.
“So, I am certain the same action (sacking) will be taken against others, including the 13 MPs who expressed support for Hamzah to remain as opposition leader,” said Ronald, who remains Bersatu’s parliamentary whip.
‘I’ll submit resignation letter to new PN chief’
Both Ronald and Bersatu Women’s chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin told Malaysiakini they will not respond to the show-cause letter issued against them when the seven-day deadline expires today.
“Yes, I did not reply,” said Mas Ermieyati, who remains as Masjid Tanah MP but had resigned as the division chief.
In a social media post today, Mas Ermieyati also announced her resignation as Malacca Perikatan Nasional chief.
“I will submit my official letter to the new PN chairperson, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, in the near future.
“I am ready to cooperate with Malacca PN to offer the best proposal for the state,” she said, referring to the state election due this year.
Mas Ermieyati added that she will respect and cooperate with her successor appointed by the PN leadership.
“I am ready to cooperate with the replacement leader from any party within PN, including PAS, Bersatu, Gerakan, and MIPP, who is chosen by the leadership,” she said.
Hamzah’s next step?
Since his sacking, Hamzah has largely remained silent on his next political move, but last week reportedly hinted at a potential takeover of an entity named “Parti Keluarga Malaysia”.
The purported takeover was revealed after Berita Harian reported Parti Keluarga Malaysia founder Khairi Jaya as claiming that the move is “almost 90 percent certain” based on recent discussions with Hamzah and Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
Before the revelation, Parti Berjasa Malaysia (Berjasa) had dismissed rumours of Hamzah eyeing a takeover of the party. Two other Malay-based parties, Putra and Pejuang, also denied having such discussions with Hamzah.
“There has been no discussion between Hamzah and us for him to join Pejuang,” Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir told Malaysiakini today, while Putra president Ibrahim Ali denied making any offer to the parliamentary opposition leader.
Since then, Hamzah also reportedly voiced intentions to remain in cooperation with PN, a move dismissed by his “number one enemy”, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.
Responding to Muhyiddin, Hamzah questioned the Pagoh MP’s remarks, made during a recent interview with selected media organisations.
“He said I cannot become a PN member. Who is he to determine that?
“I want to ask him - if I can become a PN member, will he resign?
“If he says he will step down, I will try my best to become a PN member so that he can resign,” said Hamzah, who was a guest of honour at a function hosted by Bersatu Port Dickson last night, as reported by Sinar Harian.
‘Exodus shows Muhyiddin’s lack of support’
According to the Malay daily, Hamzah said he did not expect many leaders within Bersatu to support him after he was expelled from the party.
He insisted that the support indirectly shows that the party under Muhyiddin’s leadership no longer enjoys the backing of its division leaders.
“I was informed that more than 60 divisions have been dissolved.
“If I were the president, even if I were the party’s founder, if so many people have left, that shows the party no longer has the support of its division leaders,” he claimed.
Azmin and Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz had previously insisted that the divisions remain intact despite mass resignations, and new office bearers will replace those who left.
Meanwhile, the ties between Bersatu and PAS seem to be further strained as Muhyiddin and Samsuri took swipes at each other.
This came after Muhyiddin asserted that the PAS vice-president is not the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate.
The Pagoh MP’s remark prompted Samsuri to reply with a public statement saying that Muhyiddin was “also no longer the prime minister candidate”. - Mkini
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