KUALA LUMPUR – In a bold move, suspended Bersatu member Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has accused his party of rigging its 2024 internal elections.
Speaking on Big Boom Media's Trick Lama podcast earlier today, the Machang MP reiterated his criticism of the party, claiming the election process had been manipulated.
Wan Fayhsal, who was suspended after raising concerns about internal party issues, detailed the events leading up to his suspension, alleging that he was being punished for whistleblowing on electoral fraud.
His comments were made during a candid discussion with veteran newsmen, Big Boom Media’s Group Executive Director Datuk Ahirudin Attan, also known as Rocky Bru, and Scoop’s Editor-in-Chief Terence Fernandez.
On the podcast, he specifically addressed the October 2024 race for the post of Armada (Bersatu's youth wing) chief.
Wan Fayhsal claimed the election was “rigged” by the party’s election department, labelling it as “dirty”. He alleged that the contest was manipulated to ensure the victory of Muhammad Hilman Idham, who, he claimed, had lost to Akmal Zahin Zainal Zahir in a fair race before the results were skewed through counting irregularities.
“These elections were a sham,” Wan Fayhsal asserted.
“It was a rigged, dirty election by the party’s election department. I've made that very clear.”
In the October 2024 race, Hilman, also the Gombak Setia assemblyman, secured 1,888 votes, while his rival, Akmal Zahin Zainal Zahir, garnered 1,718 votes. However, Wan Fayhsal alleges that the contest was manipulated through vote cancellations and other tactics that favoured Hilman, who he claims was aligned with party secretary-general Azmin Ali.
Yesterday, Wan Fayhsal was reported to have said that the victory was achieved through “silap mata” (sleight of hand) tactics. He specifically pointed to how votes were voided, flipping the outcome in Hilman’s favour, while Akmal was unfairly disadvantaged.
Earlier today, Nadhir Zuhair Nozi, the youth wing chief of Batu Gajah Bersatu, hit back at Wan Fayhsal, accused him of spreading “malicious” claims aimed at damaging the party’s reputation.
He further claimed that Wan Fayhsal’s membership was suspended for making false accusations about money politics and that he had failed to attend four disciplinary hearings.
During the podcast today, Wan Fayhsal revealed that he had initially raised these concerns internally and confidentially with party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. However, following the disclosure, an official complaint was filed against him by Muhyiddin’s political secretary for making the allegations.
“I was facing the President internally, not on social media,” Wan Fayhsal stressed.
Joining him on the podcast, his fellow suspended party member, Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, also voiced his frustration, calling the actions taken against them both “zalim” (tyranny). He described his own disciplinary hearing as deeply unfair, alleging that it was conducted by a biased panel.
According to Wan Saiful, the panel’s questions focused not on his alleged wrongdoings, but on uncovering a supposed wider conspiracy, including questioning “Who is the mastermind behind this?” and specifically asking, “What is Hamzah Zainuddin’s role?”
These statements suggest that the purge within Bersatu is tied to a deeper internal power struggle, potentially aimed at undermining the position of the party’s deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, who also serves as the opposition leader.
Wan Fayhsal, backing this theory, described the situation as a struggle between “two lions on the same mountain”, with the influence of Hamzah being consistently eroded by the president’s inner circle.
“Hamzah’s wings were being clipped,” he said, adding that such infighting had contributed to Perikatan Nasional’s weakness as an opposition force in Parliament. - October 22, 2025
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