Hamzah denies tension with Muhyiddin

BENTONG - Bersatu secretary general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has denied that his relationship with party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is now tense and that there are two camps in the party.

All the stories about his relationship with Muhyiddin were fabricated by outsiders who wish to see a split in Bersatu as well as in Perikatan Nasional (PN), he said.

"I am the secretary general; he is the president. He appointed me as the party secretary. If I don't like him, I leave. If he doesn't like me, he fires me. Is that what happened?

"People make up stories, and we are fine. We are doing our work and the campaigning for the election," he said after the PN Pelangai by-election's ceramah at Simpang Pelangai yesterday.

Hamzah added that his story of sharing a different direction from Muhyiddin did not make sense given that the Bersatu election would not take place any time soon. This is because it has been postponed for 18 months.

"This must be some outsiders wanting to make stories up, isn't it? There is nothing going on with this and us. This is because the election is 18 months away. Why do you want to talk about splitting?" he questioned.

The media previously reported an alleged cold war between Hamzah and Muhyiddin amidst the Bersatu election to take place next year.

Former Bersatu supreme council member Dr Muhammad Faiz Na'aman reportedly said that although there was no open dispute, he saw friction between Muhyiddin and Hamzah emerging from a number of issues.

It was reported that the conflict came about because Hamzah was upset by Muhyiddin's reluctance to participate in the Bersatu candidate selection for the 15th General Election (GE15) last year.