KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has questioned Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s authority to decide whether he can join Perikatan Nasional (PN) with his new party.
The Larut MP said remarks by the Bersatu president suggesting he could block Hamzah from joining the coalition made it appear as though Muhyiddin held sole power over the matter.
“He said I cannot be a member of PN. Who is he to decide?
“I want to ask him, if I can become a member of PN, will he resign?
“If he says he will resign, I will try my best to become a member of PN so that he can step down,” he told Sinar Harian after attending a Moreh Perdana event and the launch of the Negeri Sembilan ‘Gempur Rasuah’ programme organised by Bersatu’s Port Dickson division last night.
Muhyiddin had earlier said he would reject any cooperation between PN and Hamzah’s new political platform, saying he needed to be more cautious after what he described as a past betrayal.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Hamzah, who currently serves as Opposition Leader, is set to lead Parti Keluarga Malaysia after being expelled from Bersatu last month.
Hamzah also claimed he had not expected many Bersatu leaders — including 118 division chiefs — to support him after he was expelled from the party.
He said the development indirectly showed that the party was losing the backing of its grassroots leadership.
“I was informed that more than 60 divisions have already been dissolved.
“If I were the president, even if I were the party’s founder, but so many people had left, that would show the party no longer has the support of its division leaders,” he said, as reported by the national daily.
Hamzah added that Muhyiddin should emulate Umno founder Datuk Onn Ja’afar, who stepped down as president after seeing many party leaders no longer aligned with his views.
