Malaysia’s opposition fractures as sacked leader races to PAS, threatens Muhyiddin’s grip

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s opposition is in crisis as a power struggle between former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his

sacked deputy Hamzah Zainudin

threatens to split Perikatan Nasional (PN), with Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) positioned as kingmaker in determining which faction controls the coalition.

The clash has become untenable: Datuk Seri Hamzah, who was expelled from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on Feb 13, claims the backing of 19 of the party’s 25 MPs and 118 of its 168 active division chiefs.

He

declared himself Muhyiddin’s “No. 1 enemy”

and met PAS leaders including president Hadi Awang just over an hour after his expulsion.

PAS, as Malaysia’s largest party, has yet to openly back either side, but its support is likely decisive in determining who remains within PN’s fold. Analysts believe the Islamist party still needs a moderate Malay partner to have a realistic chance at wresting power in an election due by early 2028 but expected as soon as late 2026.

“PAS

still lacks appeal

not just to non-Muslims but also the Malay majority who want to see more technocratic leadership. This is especially so outside of its strongholds in the north-east, and battleground states like Johor, Perak, Pahang and Selangor could well decide the next general election,” advisory firm Viewfinder Global Affairs’ managing director Adib Zalkapli told The Straits Times.

While Muhyiddin is president of Bersatu, Mr Hamzah is the parliamentary opposition leader. A disciplinary hearing on Feb 12 concluded Mr Hamzah had breached the party’s Constitution without naming his specific offence. On Feb 14, rebels aligned with the former home minister gathered in Kuala Lumpur to press their claims.

Muhyiddin said after a Bersatu supreme council meeting on Feb 14 that “various efforts were made through meetings with those involved to find a peaceful resolution and save Bersatu”.

“Yet, certain parties continued to sabotage Bersatu to split us up,” he said, adding that he “even gave leadership positions to those I knew were against me” in the name of party unity.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has declined to comment on his rivals and Mr Hamzah’s status as opposition leader,

simply telling reporters:

“Let them fight first.”

PAS shows sympathy for ousted faction

Mr Hamzah appears to have stolen an edge as he met PAS leaders including Tan Sri Hadi and his three closest advisers on Feb 13 in Terengganu just over an hour after receiving official notification of his expulsion.

“Evening tea in Rusila. Allah is the best planner,” he captioned photos of the meeting on social media.

PAS leaders have been quick to stress that they are not taking sides, but the language has been sympathetic towards Mr Hamzah, who was expelled along with 16 other leaders including three MPs.

Other Bersatu leaders including elected representatives seen as part of “Team Hamzah” have also been sacked or suspended earlier in 2025.

While stressing that PAS does not interfere in the internal affairs of other parties, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said “their offence was urging the president to step down... and we sympathise with what has happened”.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan also said “all factions and parties are free to visit Rusila”, referring to Mr Hadi’s home base in Terengganu. 

Datuk Seri Takiyuddin attended the Feb 13 meeting along with PAS vice-president Samsuri Mokhtar, who is also Terengganu chief minister, as well as assistant secretary-general Syahir Sulaiman.

With Mr Hamzah were two sacked Bersatu MPs – Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah – as well as Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee, who remains in the party despite openly calling for Muhyiddin to resign.

“There will be a new platform. A new house for Team Hamzah,” Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful, a former Bersatu supreme councillor, told ST. 

“At the moment the ball is in our court because we have to sort out our own house first. I’m confident PAS will judge based on who has the most potential to help them in winning votes.”

Critical meetings ahead

A crucial crossroads will be a much-delayed PN leadership meeting now scheduled for Feb 22, where Muhyiddin’s replacement as coalition chairman is to be decided. He

resigned from that post

on Jan 1 under PAS pressure.

“Given the impasse where Bersatu and other PN parties said a president must be chairman, Hadi is set to bite the bullet and accept a nomination,” said a top official in the know about recent discussions.

PAS chairing PN will open the door for “Team Hamzah” to be reabsorbed into the coalition’s top leadership. Current and sacked members of Bersatu aligned to Mr Hamzah are expected to take over an existing party, possibly minor outfits such as Berjasa or Kita, and hope to eventually become formal PAS allies.

A pre-council of opposition MPs is also expected to take place before Parliament resumes on Feb 23, and if Mr Hamzah remains opposition leader, it would cement his claim that he has the support of most of PN’s 68 MPs, 43 of whom hail from PAS.

The crisis has been brewing since PAS’ annual congress or muktamar in September 2025, when it began calling for a change in PN’s leadership.

After several PAS assemblymen pulled support for their own chief minister in the tiny northern state of Perlis, and Bersatu assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah became Menteri Besar in December 2025, the Islamist party pressured Muhyiddin to resign as PN chairman claiming betrayal.

His resignation took effect on Jan 1 and, despite PAS saying it is ready to take up the mantle, the coalition has yet to find a suitable replacement, laying bare the difficulty of finding a candidate from the Islamist party that has the needed stature both internally and across multicultural Malaysia.

For the likes of Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin, even though PAS is not ready to claim the prime ministership, this does not mean sticking with Muhyiddin as PN’s leader as the former PM “is living on past glories with no new ideas for today or the future”.

“Mr Hamzah has articulated a clear vision for PN – a new national consensus to have support across Malaysia’s diverse demographics that can bring back political stability, not just political survival,” the former Bersatu supreme councillor told ST.