Bersatu Youth chief says Hamzah only addressed the Bangkok meeting after a sacked colleague’s slip-up, highlighting a pattern of unilateral decisions within the party

PETALING JAYA: Sacked Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had never admitted that he had met Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Bangkok prior to his dismissal, said Bersatu Youth chief Muhammad Hilman Idham.

The Gombak Setia assemblyman told theSun that Hamzah was questioned on the matter during a Bersatu Supreme Council meeting where party leaders sought clarification over reports of their alleged meeting.

He said the matter remained unanswered until another sacked Bersatu leader Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan inadvertently mentioned the meeting in public, prompting Hamzah to eventually respond to the allegation.

“Only after Wan Saiful slipped up about the matter did Hamzah respond publicly. He later gave an interview saying the meeting in Bangkok was to unite the people and the ummah.

“As a senior leader he should have reported it to the party. This is a political party. We have a president, a political bureau and a supreme leadership council.

“If he thought the matter was sensitive and feared that it might leak from the supreme council, then it could have been discussed in the political bureau. If that was still a concern, he could have informed the president directly. He was then the deputy president and he could have just whispered it to the president.”

The Bangkok meeting was also attended by PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan who said he went to the meeting with the blessing of his president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Hilman said the situation reflected a pattern of unilateral decisions that had previously caused unease within the party leadership.

He cited earlier decisions related to electoral strategy, particularly during discussions within Bersatu’s top leadership bodies regarding the number of seats the party intended to contest in last year’s Sabah state election.

Hilman said the party had initially agreed during internal meetings that Bersatu would contest a maximum of 15 seats while pursuing electoral cooperation with other regional parties.

“During the discussions we were told that Bersatu would form coalitions with parties such as Sabah STAR and Warisan.”

Hilman claimed that the strategy changed abruptly near the end of the negotiation process.

“Suddenly we were told that Bersatu would contest more than 30 seats because the talks with Warisan had failed and the only remaining arrangement was with STAR.”

Hilman also alleged that party leaders were told that the details of the coalition arrangement should remain confidential until after nomination day.

He said the arrangement, however, did not materialise as described.

“By nomination day, it became clear that in constituencies where STAR was supposedly contesting, Bersatu was not standing aside. Instead, both sides ended up contesting in the same areas.”

Hilman further alleged that the last-minute changes were driven by internal pressures to ensure more Bersatu Sabah division leaders were fielded as candidates.

He added that some leaders were prepared to accept defeat in the election as long as they were able to keep their supporters happy and keep their positions.

In the 17th Sabah state election last year where Hamzah was the Perikatan Nasional election director, Bersatu was totally wiped out after losing all 33 seats it contested.

 The Sun Malaysia