Two analysts have interpreted Hamzah Zainudin’s expression of readiness to succeed Bersatu party president Muhyiddin Yassin as a gentlemanly yet firm message of the need for a leadership change.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Mazlan Ali said the statement by Hamzah, the party’s deputy president, could also be viewed as a subtle nudge for Muhyiddin to step aside and facilitate a smooth transition.
“By declaring he is willing to take over the reins from Muhyiddin, Hamzah was providing the former prime minister an opportunity to exit gracefully to prevent divisions in the party once he (Muhyiddin) resigns,” he told FMT.
Mazlan, however, said Hamzah had unwittingly piled additional pressure on Muhyiddin who knows he must step down as president to avoid internal divisions within Bersatu and a strain of the party’s relations with PAS.
He went on to predict that Muhyiddin would likely pass the baton to Hamzah before the 16th general election.
“A leadership transition now can guarantee Bersatu’s revival in time for the next general election,” said Mazlan.
In an interview with BFM last week, Hamzah claimed that Muhyiddin intends to hand over the Bersatu presidency to him once he decides to step down.
The remarks came amid speculation of an internal rift within the party, with calls by several leaders for Muhyiddin to step down growing louder.
Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan, meanwhile, described Hamzah’s remarks as a tactic to pressure Muhyiddin into committing to a leadership transition timeline.
“It is a pre-emptive ‘strike’ to force Muhyiddin to transfer the power to him because there are rumours that Muhyiddin prefers secretary-general Azmin Ali to take over.
“It was also a brilliant strategy to keep Azmin out of the picture.”
Azmi said Hamzah’s comments were also aimed at pacifying the party’s disgruntled grassroots by telling them to be patient.
Like Mazlan, Azmi also believes that Muhyiddin will hand over the reins to Hamzah before the next nationwide polls.
