Hamzah-Zahid meeting was to unite Malay parties, says MP

 Ex-Bersatu man says Muhyiddin Yassin was the biggest obstruction to the 'Bangkok Move' as he was 'not interested' in uniting the major Malay parties.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin recently accused his former deputy, Hamzah Zainudin, of holding covert talks with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on a new political alignment.

PETALING JAYA:

 A former Bersatu MP has confirmed that opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin met with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, but says their discussions revolved around uniting the country’s Malay parties.

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan said Hamzah, the former Bersatu deputy president, only held talks with those who could help achieve the goal of Malay political unity.

He said Zahid fit the bill as president of Umno, one of the largest Malay-Muslim parties in terms of membership, Berita Harian reported.

“But (Bersatu president) Muhyiddin Yassin was the biggest obstruction to this move because he’s not interested in uniting the big Malay parties in Malaysia,” Wan Saiful added.

On Tuesday, Muhyiddin claimed that Hamzah had held covert talks with Zahid about forming a new political configuration that would see Hamzah become deputy prime minister, while another leader would hold the top post.

Muhyiddin said these discussions were later billed the “Bangkok Move” and that Hamzah had no right to hold talks with the leaders of other parties without Bersatu’s mandate.

Wan Saiful said he was unsure about Muhyiddin’s claim that the discussions also covered the possibility of Hamzah getting the deputy prime minister’s post.

He said Muhyiddin should furnish proof of his claim, alleging that the former Perikatan Nasional chairman himself was previously behind efforts to regain the prime minister’s post.

In January, Zahid confirmed meeting several leaders from PAS and Bersatu to discuss uniting the Malays through a “grand coalition”. - FMT