SHAH ALAM: There is no hostility between us, says Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin regarding his relationship with party deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
In response to Hamzah’s declaration that he was “Muhyiddin’s number 1 man”, the former Prime Minister thanked his deputy and stated that they are friends.
“Some people create the perception that Hamzah and I are not good friends. When Hamzah reprimanded this publicly for the first time, I held onto it.
“This is not just a good start; things are actually improving beyond than ever,” he said while holding hands with Hamzah.
Muhyiddin said this at a press conference after the Bersatu annual general assembly here on Sunday (Sept 7).
Regarding whether Bersatu delegates' decision to nominate Muhyiddin as their Prime Minister candidate will be communicated to the Perikatan Nasional coalition, he stated that the party secretary-general will provide further details.
He also said that the party would deal with the commotion that occurred on Saturday (Sept 6) internally.
The scuffle erupted as Muhyiddin was addressing allegations to remove him, with a delegate then shouting, “It’s not true, Tan Sri”.
Some delegates began standing on chairs and shouted, while others attempted to block the press from getting footage of the incident.
Prior to the AGM, there was talk of statutory declarations from division leaders calling for Muhyiddin to step down as the president.
“It should not have happened, but it did. We have our own wise and courteous ways to deal with this and ensure it does not prolong,” Muhyiddin said.
He said a supreme council meeting was called earlier Sunday to discuss this matter.
“The situation has stabilised and it will not recur. What matters is that we preserve the party’s image at all times.
“We have managed our problem well, but now we have to look forward to how we can strengthen the party,” he said.
On the Sabah polls, Muhyiddin ruled out working with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajii Noor.
“They betrayed us. We won during the last state election and Hajiji was sworn in as Chief Minister on our behalf. We won’t work with them.
“We have our own strategies. Developments there are also making the people of Sabah uneasy,” he said, adding that they will announce their own Chief Minister candidate “when the time is right”.
