Who said what, when?

The Star

21-06-2025

TO paraphrase the saying, the devil's in the context when it comes to political agreements.
I've been bedevilled by 'he said, he said' from Team Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Team Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on whether there was a promise by the Bersatu president to give way for the deputy president to lead the party.
Team Hamzah claimed that Muhyiddin had promised to step down as party president and hand over the reins to his deputy president, Hamzah.
On Friday, I spoke with Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz to get Team Muhyiddin's side of things.
First, you need to understand the context, Tun Faisal told me.
'As far as I understand, the leadership transition proposal made by Tan Sri Muhyiddin after the party's 'Gopeng Retreat' and during the 2024 Bersatu convention specifically referred to the 2024 party elections – not to any change in the party presidency or leadership transition after the 16th General Election [GE16],' he said.
'So far, the official decision made at the 2024 Annual General Assembly is that TS Muhyiddin will continue to lead the party until GE16. The delegates unanimously agreed upon this decision.'
I asked the Bersatu information chief why there was pressure for a leadership change, and he explained that it might not even be from Team Hamzah but from a 'few unnamed sources'.
'Why don't they have the courage to come forward with their names? Because they know they can hide behind anonymity, spread falsehoods, and avoid accountability. These voices represent a small minority
within the party and do not reflect the will of the majority,' he said.
On whether Muhyiddin
would yield to pressure to step down, Tun Faisal said the former prime minister did offer not to contest at the 2024 party elections. However, the offer was unanimously rejected by the delegates at the 2024 General Assembly (PAT2024), he said.
'The decision made at PAT2024 reaffirmed that he should continue to lead the party until GE16. Based on this, I believe that TS Muhyiddin will adhere to the commitments and decisions made at PAT2024,' he said.
Will those 'few unnamed sources', as Tun Faisal called them, succeed in getting Muhyiddin to quit as Bersatu president?
The information chief pointed out that a few individuals do not dictate Bersatu's direction, the majority does.
Moreover, he said leadership in a coalition like Perikatan Nasional – the national Opposition bloc of which Bersatu is a member – must take into account support from component parties, other political entities, and MPs, as well as public approval.
'As party members, I believe we must respect the majority's decision made during PAT2024. That decision was clear – there's only Team Bersatu, Team President, Team Muhyiddin,' he said.
Tun Faisal contended that the vast majority of Bersatu delegates and grassroots members support the decision of having only one team. He believes Muhyiddin will remain strong through to GE16.
'We've moved past the party election phase. We are now in the reorganisation and strengthening phase. Our focus must be on preparing for the next general election – and this must be done as one united team under one leader,' he said.
In a previous column ('Ber-satu's handover conundrum', June 15; online at bit.ly/44bE4b8), I shared that a Team Hamzah source felt that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is strong because Muhyiddin is weak. I asked Tun Faisal for his view on this.
It is a false narrative, he declared.
'Anwar is not as strong as some claim. If a vote of confidence for the Prime Minister were conducted in Parliament through a secret ballot – free from party whip instructions – we might already have a new prime minister by now,' he said.
He said Muhyiddin's inclusive and open leadership style continues to attract growing support for both Bersatu and Perikatan.
'In fact, a recent internal survey shows that he enjoys the highest public approval rating among Opposition leaders,' he said.
'This comes as no surprise given his proven leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he successfully guided the country through a critical period, protecting lives and stabilising the economy.'
On Team Hamzah's claim that PAS wants a new leader for Perikatan to bring down Anwar, Tun Faisal said this news came from unnamed sources who lack the courage to reveal their identities.
He said an unnamed source even claimed that PAS had proposed restructuring Perikatan to give significant operational powers to Opposition leader Hamzah, who is also Bersatu's deputy president.
'Fortunately, the claim was recently refuted by senior PAS leaders such as deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan,' he said.
Tun Faisal stated that at a recent Top Five meeting between the two parties, PAS leaders reaffirmed their full support for Muhyiddin's leadership as Perikatan chairman.
'These so-called 'sources' were not part of those meetings, nor were they present at the Perikatan supreme council meetings or the Bersatu-PAS Top Five discussions,' he said.
'Therefore, their statements are inaccurate, misleading, and not based on any official discussion or actual developments.'
Team Hamzah may disagree, as before my chat with Tun Faisal on Friday, a team member called me to inform me who Team Muhyiddin has identified as those 'unknown sources' – two Bersatu politicians, it seems.
In this political 'he said, he said', where the devil's in the context, and both sides have a different take on Muhyiddin's promise, clarity remains elusive.