An Amanah leader has criticised the party’s youth chief Hasbie Muda over his admission of a mistake in sharing inaccurate internal information with regards to the postponement of the party’s elections.
Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah said Hasbie had shared in a WhatsApp group that a national committee meeting several weeks ago decided that the party elections would be postponed, in accordance with Clause 19.2(j) of the Amanah constitution.
“However, this contradicts what the official spokespersons at the Amanah convention said: that no decision or discussion on the matter had ever taken place.
“This is what caused more confusion among party members and the media,” Raja Kamarul, an Amanah central committee member, said in a statement.
He said that Hasbie was not only a central committee member, but also the chairman of Terengganu Amanah and the state’s Pakatan Harapan chapter.
“He is also Amanah youth chief and a senator, ‘a person close to and trusted by the top leadership of the party’.
“Therefore, his statement in the Terengganu Amanah WhatsApp group was taken seriously by party members. Moreover, he felt responsible for informing the Terengganu state committee about the important decision (to postpone the party polls),” he added.
He said the confusion put convention speaker Azhar Abdul Shukur in a difficult position, as he had to manage the commotion that arose among delegates.
Tensions flared at Amanah’s national convention on Sunday when several delegates demanded an immediate debate on their motion on party elections.
A session during the convention descended into disorder when one delegate shouted that the motion on the elections should be debated, not merely presented.
A heated exchange followed, with one delegate calling for the postponement of the elections beyond 2026 and another insisting that they proceed as planned.
Amanah vice-president Hatta Ramli had announced that motions regarding the 2026 party elections would not be debated. He said the issue was premature and that the party’s constitution did not allow advance decisions on such matters.
Raja Kamarul said that all party members and leaders should reflect on the events that had contributed to the atmosphere at the convention.
“May this serve as a lesson for all of us in handling the situation leading up to the next Amanah national elections, the date of which remains uncertain among Amanah members,” he said.
