KUALA LUMPUR – Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi has raised questions over Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) decision to appoint Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin as opposition leader in Parliament.
In a Facebook post today, Puad voiced several queries on the call, speculating on why PN chairman and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had apparently been overlooked for the task in favour of Hamzah, who is also Larut MP.
“The opposition leader is normally the prime minister candidate. Despite having health and ageing issues, it’s not possible that Muhyiddin no longer wants to be prime minister.
“Is Hamzah PN’s poster boy and prime minister candidate for the 16th general elections?” Puad alleged.
While he theorised that Muhyiddin is possibly unwilling to be a warlord in Parliament because he is ostensibly weighed down by “baggage”, he conceded that a different strategy could be at play since Hamzah is “not a small child (and) is a great destroyer”.
He also appeared to issue a cautionary message to Muhyiddin, saying: “Five years is too long for Hamzah to be opposition leader. There are all sorts of things he can play around with.
“Don’t let Muhyiddin be destroyed by Hamzah’s hands.”
Last Saturday (December 10), PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan announced Hamzah’s appointment as opposition leader, a decision reached by the PN MPs’ committee.
The committee also appointed Muhyiddin as chief of the PN MPs, while PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang is his deputy. – The Vibes, December 14, 2022
