Leaked audio: Bersatu meet merely to outline Muhyiddin-Azmin exit plan, says Kadir

A Kadir Jasin said Bersatu's final supreme council meeting before exiting Pakatan Harapan earlier this year was merely for Muhyiddin Yassin to outline the exit plan he had made with former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali.

The veteran newsperson made the claim based on audio recordings of the Feb 23 supreme council meeting which had been leaked online.

In the recording, a man whose voice resembles that of Bersatu president Muhyiddin is heard telling the council to entrust party chairperson and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad with the mandate to decide on whether or not to leave Harapan.

According to Kadir, the audio showed that no decision for the party to leave Harapan was finalised during the Bersatu supreme council meeting. Yet, he pointed out that the “Sheraton Move” took place the same day.

It is dubbed the "Sheraton Move" as Muhyiddin, other Bersatu leaders and Azmin's faction within PKR had met with then opposition Umno and PAS MPs at the hotelin Petaling Jaya that night.

Following this, Bersatu exited Harapan on Feb 24 and, together with Azmin’s faction, joined forces with Umno and PAS.

The move ultimately led to the collapse of the Harapan-led government and Muhyiddin being sworn in as premier of the new Perikatan Nasional government instead.

 A Kadir Jasin

“The key phrase (from the leaked audio) is ‘...we give full mandate to Tun (Mahathir)’.

“It is clear that during the supreme council meeting on Feb 23, no decision was made to exit Harapan.

“But that night, the 'Sheraton Move' was publicised in violation of the supreme council meeting decision as Muhyiddin himself summarised (in the recording).

“On his part, Mahathir pleaded to be given time and not be made to go against his principle, to break his promise to Harapan.

“But for Muhyiddin and his supporters, the Feb 23 supreme council meeting was just to inform of the plan he and Azmin had agreed upon with the opposition,” said Kadir in a Facebook posting today.

Kadir had served as Mahathir’s media affairs adviser after GE14.

The leaked audio countered the claim by Bersatu information chief Radzi Jidin that a decision was made during the meeting and that Mahathir had supported leaving Harapan before changing his mind at the eleventh hour.

Mahathir has accused Muhyiddin and the latter's followers of ignoring his wishes to remain in Harapan following a tense Harapan presidential council meeting on Feb 21 during which Mahathir was reportedly pressured to handover premiership to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim. - Mkini