Muhyiddin will hand me Bersatu presidency when he is ready - Hamzah

Summary

• Hamzah Zainudin says Muhyiddin Yassin will hand over the presidency when ready.

• He claims to have alerted Muhyiddin to efforts to replace the latter as president even before the Bersatu AGM.

• Hamzah also claims not to know about the existence of factions within the party, but says talk about it shows that Bersatu has many leaders.

Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin said Muhyiddin Yassin will hand over the presidency when the latter is ready.

Amid recent reports of mounting tensions within the party, Hamzah (above, right) likened the passing of the presidency to a 4x100m relay race.

"Maybe I'm the second runner and he's the first runner. I'm just waiting. While he's near me, he (will) pass the baton, I will take it.

"Just as long as it is not over the line," he said on BFM’s Breakfast Grille.

The podcast episode was published on Oct 31, while the video of the interview went up on YouTube yesterday.

Party infighting

Bersatu has seen a recent spate of infighting over efforts to place Hamzah as the party president.

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who was earlier expelled from the party for his alleged involvement in the matter, released an audio clip on Nov 3 of Bersatu’s disciplinary board proceedings against him, as evidence backing up his claim that Hamzah was the true target.

In the clip, circulated to the media, Wan Saiful is heard challenging board chairperson Radzi Manan for linking Hamzah to the case.

Radzi is also heard saying the board had summoned Hamzah and accused the deputy president of harbouring ambitions to become prime minister.

Hamzah is reported to have declined the disciplinary board summons.

Burgeoning factionalism

During the interview, Hamzah claimed that he had alerted Muhyiddin to the burgeoning factionalism even before the Bersatu annual general meeting (AGM).

"I knew about that just a few days or one week before our AGM. So, I already told my president that. At that time, I was supposed to go overseas, and I went overseas.

"I came back and I thought of trying to resolve the matter. But something happened, which I think I couldn't do it (resolving the issue) at that time. So, that's why it prolonged," he said.

During the AGM, several delegates had openly called for Muhyiddin to resign, causing a stir.

Recognised leaders

Hamzah further claimed that he had neither supported nor encouraged any efforts to place him as the president because he had only recently discovered such attempts.

He added that his loyalty to Muhyiddin should not be questioned.

When asked about the existence of three camps within the party, Hamzah merely said it was an indication of the number of leaders Bersatu has.

The three camps belong to Muhyiddin, Hamzah, and party secretary-general Azmin Ali.

"I'm so happy because when you asked me that question, it shows that Bersatu has got quite a number of leaders until they can create blocs like that," he said.

But when pressed on whether the camps truly exist, Hamzah said he didn't know.

"I don't know, that's why I said, since people are saying that we've got three blocs at the moment, I'm so happy, in the sense that it shows that we have got leaders in a party that are recognised by the people," he said.

Failure to subdue crisis

On Nov 4, Ampang Bersatu called for Muhyiddin's resignation, following the local division committee’s decision to unanimously withdraw confidence in the party president’s leadership.

It said this was because Muhyiddin had failed to subdue an ongoing crisis brewing within Bersatu.

Ampang Bersatu secretary Daing Mohamad Daing Makati said that they had been aware of the party’s “significant internal upheaval”, particularly involving the relationship between Azmin and the party's information chief, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, with a large number of the party’s divisional leaders nationwide.

On Nov 1, a letter with the signatures of 16 Bersatu MPs surfaced, objecting to Hamzah being summoned by the disciplinary board and Wan Saiful’s sacking.

They also objected to the suspension of Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.

Later, Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin Abdullah claimed that there are actually more than 19 MPs on their side.

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