A leaked letter that is circulating on social media at present time, is accusing Hamzah to be the “main operator” behind the move to topple Muhyiddin.
It is for this reason that the letter, which was drafted to be signed off by a Bersatu elected representative or leader, is calling for Hamzah to be removed as opposition leader and Bersatu deputy president.
Now is there any merit to the claim that Hamzah is the one that is behind the move to topple Muhyiddin in Bersatu?
Well, to answer that question, let me begin with two others:
Was Tun Razak the main operator behind the move that toppled Tunku Abdul Rahman?
Was Kamala Harris the main operator who ended Joe Biden’s bid for a second term?
The answer to both is yes and no.
Yes, because which politician doesn’t want to rise up the ranks?
Tun Razak, Kamala Harris, Hamzah Zainudin — all of them would seize any opportunity to claim a higher position. To claim that any of them would hold back out of “loyalty” or “respect” is to fundamentally misunderstand who politicians are.
Politicians are competitors. Competitors are always aiming to win more.
Saying a politician would decline a chance to rise because of loyalty is like saying Islam Makhachev would refuse to become the UFC’s triple champion out of respect for Khamzat Chimaev. It ignores what these men are: winners. Winners do not reject chances to win bigger for things like brotherhood or loyalty or admiration.
In politics — a field where brothers have toppled brothers, fathers have erased sons, and sons have dethroned fathers — to claim that Hamzah has no intention of replacing Muhyiddin would be naïve to the point of absurdity.
But at the same time, I also think that the answer whether Hamzah is the one that is behind the move to topple Muhyddiin is a no, because in the sense that I don't think that Hamzah is doing anything overt to topple Muhyiddin.
I don't think so , because making overt moves is not how Malay politics works.
In Malay Politics, Ambition Must Be Invisible
In Malay politics, you cannot rise by looking ambitious. You cannot look like you want to be number one out of personal ambition. Such display of personal ambition is frowned upon.
Instead, you must always appear as if you only took the top job because everyone else “begged” you to do it, preferably to save the orgganisation or to contribute to the organisation.
In other words, you must seem reluctant, even when you are hungry.
That is why I do not believe Hamzah is holding secret meetings, drawing up schemes, or directly sabotaging Muhyiddin. That’s not how the game is played. If he did anything so overt, he would have been deemed unsuitable to lead Bersatu, by its members.
What he will do — and what he has likely already done — is signal silent consent.
In other words, when murmurs of discontent were brought up to his attention about Muhyiddin's leadership, he probably just consented to it by not objecting to anyone's criticism of Muhyiddin.
When Bersatu members or its allies in Perikatan Nasional were to openly express their desire that it would be better for Bersatu if he repalaced Muhyiddin as number 1, Hamzah would not say openly that he is not willing to do so. Even when pressed to declare that he has no intention of being the number 1, his declaration would likely be muted, delayed and sound reluctant and restrained.
While he would not have said openly that he agrees with the view that Muhyiddin is an unsuitable leader or that he is not willing to be the number 1, the very fact that he did not state to the contrary - that Muhyiddin is a great leader and just needs time and undivided loyalty of the members to show his worth - would have been taken as a sign that Hamzah consents for Muhyiddin to be toppled, and was ready to replace Muhyiddin once Muhyiddin is toppled.
Such a signal will tell the ambitious juniors in the party that if Muhyiddin falls and Hamzah rises, those who helped bring him down will be rewarded.
This is exactly how Tun Razak dethroned Tunku.
Razak did not openly attack Tunku.
Young leaders like Mahathir did the attacking, the shaming, the mobilising.
And when the dust settled and Razak took the throne, those young leaders were rewarded handsomely.
Today, the same pattern is unfolding in Bersatu.
Wan Saiful, Wan Fayhsal, Saifuddin — The New Mahathirs of Bersatu
These juniors who are criticising Muhyiddin may face suspension, punishment, or expulsion now.
But if Muhyiddin falls and Hamzah rises, they will be rewarded richly for their “service”.
This is the political rhythm of Malay parties — UMNO in the past, Bersatu today.
So the real question is not whether Hamzah is the mastermind.
That is the wrong way of looking at the issue, that will only confuse you and not bring any conclusion, if looked like from this point of view.
The Real Reason Muhyiddin Will Be Toppled: Meaninglessness
The better way of looking at the issue is not by asking whether Hamzah is the main operator that is trying to dethrone Muhyiddin.
Instead, the better way to see the issue is by seeing that the reason why Muhyiddin will be toppled, is by understanding that an organisation becomes meaningless if its leader cannot win.
There is a reason why organisations exist.
There is a reason organisations have hierarchy.
There is a reason why leaders of an organisation is given a red carpet treatment by the members and are followed and obeyed.
The reason this is so is because the members expect the leader to lead the organisation to success, because it is only if the organisation succeeds, that the members can expect to benefit by being a member of the organisation.
Muhyiddin, however, is not a winner. He never was a winner. He simply does not know how to win.
Muhyiddin can only win if victory is handed to him. He himself does not know how to win by seizing victory in a contest. This fact can be proven simply by looking at Muhyiddin's track record - if you look at Muhyiddin's career, you can clearly see that he has never won anything by himself - all of his victory were handed down to him, either by the strength of the organisation he belonged or the camp be belonged to or a leader he served .
He even became prime minister and Bersatu president by quirks of fate, not by competitive triumph.
As long as Muhyiddin remains at the top:
- PN cannot win.
- Bersatu cannot win.
- Every member looks around and wonders why they should stay in a ship going nowhere.
When an organisation faces the prospect of becoming pointless, a powerful instinct arises among its members:
the instinct to remove the leader for the sake of survival.
And when that instinct spreads, ambitious figures like Hamzah, Wan Saiful, Wan Fayhsal — they sense opportunity.
They carry out what the members desire, hoping the members will repay them with higher positions.
This is what is happening in Bersatu today.
So Who Is Toppling Muhyiddin?
Not Hamzah.
Not Wan Saiful.
Not Wan Fayhsal.
It is fate.
The logic of political survival.
The instinct of a party staring at irrelevance.
Because Bersatu must choose between:
keeping Muhyiddin and becoming meaningless,
or
removing him and having a future.
And when fate demands a leader to fall, the fall is guaranteed.
That is why I am very, very sure:
Muhyiddin will be removed — and sooner than anyone expects.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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