KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin has hit back at allegations that he frequently met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after being sacked from Bersatu.

The Larut MP also said that Datuk Seri Azmin Ali has been purported to have regularly met Anwar and challenged the Bersatu secretary-general to clarify the allegations, Berita Harian reported this evening.

“Why would I meet Anwar? As Opposition leader, where would I meet Anwar? In Parliament. Is that wrong?” Hamzah was quoted as saying in a media interview.

The former Bersatu deputy president was responding to questions about his remarks yesterday questioning why some Bersatu leaders who openly support Anwar faced no action, while he was expelled from the party for meeting Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Bangkok.

Hamzah asserted that he has not met Anwar outside Parliament since the PKR president took office as prime minister in November 2022.

“Outside Parliament, from the time he became prime minister until today, I have never met him,  not in his office, not at his home, nowhere,” he was quoted as saying.

Hamzah asserted that he had heard from multiple sources about the alleged meetings between Mohamed Azmin and Anwar; one was from an unnamed Bersatu MP whose child claimed to have seen Azmin leaving Anwar’s office.

He also noted that former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli had made similar allegations on social media.

“Many people have told me, so I thought I should respond. If he says no, that’s fine… but if yes, one day it will be proven.

“People will no longer believe you, that’s all. You’re not answering now, so when it’s proven tomorrow, it will all come out,” Hamzah was quoted as saying.

He was also asked if he would work with Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin again if the Perikatan Nasional coalition regained federal support.

“I do not want to go back. I can go forward, left or right. I don’t want to go backwards. Forget about them,” Hamzah was quoted as saying by The Star.

He also criticised Bersatu’s internal power structure, claiming the party’s official seat count no longer reflects the reality in Parliament.

“While Bersatu’s number of seats dropped from 31 to 25, I remain the dominant force in the party. There are 18 supporting me. Including myself, that makes 19. I have 19 and you have six – so think about that,” he was quoted as saying.

Hamzah suggested that Malaysians are increasingly discerning about political manoeuvring and warned that attempts to block new entrants into the coalition expose the leadership’s insincerity.

He also questioned Bersatu’s decision-making, particularly its reliance on suspensions rather than expulsions, saying the inconsistency has left the party in disarray.

“The erratic decision-making of the leadership has plunged the party into chaos, and the inconsistencies at the top point to instability.”