INSIDE Perikatan Nasional’s structure, there’s a possibility that a Trojan Horse move is being readied for partyless Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin.
The gate for Hamzah, who was sacked as a Bersatu deputy president, is being opened through Berjasa, which, alongside Pejuang, was accepted into Perikatan as an affiliate member (ahli bersekutu).
This is not the Berjasa of old. The party has undergone a strategic rebranding and constitutional shift to shed its image as a fringe Islamist group. Formerly known as Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia, the party is now positioning itself as Parti Berjasa Malaysia. By opening its membership to non-Muslims, Berjasa is ensuring that Hamzah’s transition isn’t framed as a “Malay exodus”, but as a broadening nationalist front.
This shift provides a vital legal home for Bersatu’s non-Muslim rebel MPs. This includes suspended former Bersatu vice- president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (MP for Beluran in Sabah) and Datuk Ali Biju (MP for Saratok in Sarawak). By becoming a multi-ethnic vehicle, Berjasa allows these non-Muslim Bornean politicians to become members of the party.
Berjasa has come a long way. It started in 1977 as a PAS splinter party founded by Datuk Muhammad Nasir during a leadership crisis in Kelantan. If it is elevated to a full component of Perikatan, it would mark a historic homecoming – a return to its PAS-aligned roots. Pejuang, headed by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, is also expected to be accepted as a full component party within Perikatan.
This will further cement a new power bloc that bypasses the Bersatu leadership. The power dynamic within the coalition has shifted decisively, and it is now firmly under PAS’s control. The chairman is Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar of PAS, and the secretary-general is Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan of PAS.
Bersatu and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin lost control of the coalition when the Bersatu president was forced to resign as chairman early this year. Furthermore, the secretary-general post is no longer held by a Muhyiddin loyalist, as Datuk Seri Azmin Ali was replaced by Takiyuddin.
With 19 MPs (Hamzah plus his 18 loyalists), a rejuvenated Berjasa will instantly become the second-largest party in Perikatan, dwarfing what remains of a hollowed-out Bersatu, which has about six MPs.
In the standard Trojan Horse move devised by Odysseus, you hide something inside a gift to get it through a guarded gate.
In this scenario, the gate is Perikatan, a tattered Bersatu could be deemed the guards, the gift is the political shell of Berjasa, and the hidden soldiers are Hamzah and his legion of MPs, assemblymen, and supporters.
But in this case, I call it a Reverse Trojan Horse because Hamzah isn’t outside the gates trying to sneak in; he is already inside the coalition structure as an MP backing Perikatan and who is backed by PAS, which has taken control of the coalition.
The brilliance of the possible Berjasa manoeuvre lies in its cunning against Bersatu. For Muh-yiddin, staying in Perikatan after the move would mean acknowledging that archrival Hamzah has successfully entered Perikatan. Muhyiddin’s party would be relegated to third place in the coalition, behind PAS and Berjasa. Bersatu would also have to give up contesting incumbent seats held by former and present Bersatu MPs who join Berjasa.
If the Berjasa Reverse Trojan Horse manoeuvre happens, Bersatu and Muhyiddin must decide whether they want to remain in the opposition coalition. If the party leaves, Muh-yiddin would like King Priam, who was left to watch his Troy (Bersatu) burn from the inside before being forced to abandon the throne of his kingdom.
In the classics, the Trojan Horse was a “gift” from Odysseus that ended a 10-year stalemate. In 2026, Hamzah’s Berjasa manoeuvre serves a similar purpose, breaking the deadlock between the opposition’s warring factions.
But unlike the Greeks who sacked Troy and sailed away, the “Odysseus” from Larut has no intention of leaving. If the Reverse Trojan Horse move happens, and Hamzah bypasses the guards – ie, Bersatu – and gets inside, he will simply have to wait for the old leadership (Bersatu) to depart so he can claim the keys to the kingdom.
In this reverse twist, the horse wouldn’t just bring an end to the war, it would bring a new king.
