KUALA LUMPUR — Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz has denied claims made by predecessor Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had agreed to step down as president and hand over the reins to deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
Speaking on the Trick Lama podcast by PodaBoom, hosted by Big Boom Media’s editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez and CEO Datuk Zainul Ariffin, Tun Faisal said no such succession agreement was ever made within Bersatu or Perikatan Nasional.
“Never. That agreement never happened,” he said during the episode, which also featured a discussion about ongoing internal rifts within the party.
When asked if that meant Wan Saiful had lied, Tun Faisal replied: “Yes.”
Tun Faisal added that Wan Saiful may have “forgotten” the sequence of events and misunderstood the discussions surrounding leadership renewal.
“Earlier this year, FMT sent me a question about rumours that Muhyiddin would resign at the end of 2025 and hand over power to Hamzah based on a so-called ‘Gopeng Retreat’.
“I checked with those who were there — and what actually happened was that the retreat agreed to entrust Tan Sri Muhyiddin with developing a succession plan, not to resign immediately,” he said.
Tun Faisal explained that the consensus reached during the retreat was later reflected in the 2024 Bersatu general assembly, where a leadership reshuffle took place under Muhyiddin’s proposed formula.
“The president remained. Datuk Seri Faizal Azumu, who was deputy president, moved down one level to become vice-president, while Datuk Seri Hamzah, who was the secretary-general, moved up to become deputy president. That was the formula endorsed by the delegates,” he said.
He added that the decision for Muhyiddin to continue leading the party into the next general election was confirmed by the party’s leadership council in 2024 and remains in force.
“There was no agreement saying Tan Sri would resign in a year or hand over responsibility to Datuk Seri Hamzah. That never happened,” he said.
Tun Faisal also rejected speculation that the discussion around succession was driven by concerns about Muhyiddin’s health.
“At that time, Tan Sri felt it was enough to give a chance to the younger generation. It wasn’t about health. If you look at him today, he’s still healthy,” he said.
The Trick Lama podcast, produced by PodaBoom and published by Big Boom Media — which also runs Scoop — features in-depth political conversations with current and former policymakers.
Watch the full episode of Trick Lama with Tun Faisal on the PodaBoom YouTube channel, which comes out later today. — November 7, 2025