KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz has pushed back against the narrative of a party divided by competing camps loyal to deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and supreme council member Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, suggesting the rift is being amplified by ‘external elements’.
Instead of confirming a power struggle between the two party stalwarts, Tun Faisal framed the issue as a misinterpretation fuelled by rumours, which he claimed are being leveraged by those who stand to gain from Bersatu’s instability.
Speaking on the Trick Lama podcast by PodaBoom, he revealed that the notion of an “Azmin camp” was first brought to his attention by the media, who questioned him on a supposed internal divide stemming from the party’s Gopeng retreat.
“FMT also asked me, ‘Is it true that Azmin’s camp is opposing because Azmin’s camp holds the view that the Gopeng retreat was about the party election?’” Tun Faisal said.
Tun Faisal said this during the interview with hosts Datuk Zainul Arifin, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Big Boom Media, which publishes Scoop, and Big Boom Media Editor in Chief Terence Fernandez.
However, he was quick to dismiss the premise, stating that the retreat’s purpose was to empower party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to formulate a long-term succession plan, not to facilitate an immediate handover of power as has been claimed.
Tun Faisal argued that this misunderstanding became the basis for the stories of internal factions, a narrative he previously accused his predecessor, Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, of misrepresenting.
“That was the formula endorsed by the delegates,” he stressed, referring to the outcome of the 2024 party assembly where Hamzah was elevated to deputy president while Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu took on a vice-president role.
By deflecting the idea of a formal Azmin-led faction, Tun Faisal painted a picture of a small, disgruntled group whose influence is being exaggerated.
“The ones making a fuss, making noise, are actually just a handful. They are not many. But they are noisy,” he explained, adding that their voices were “drowned out” during the party’s general assembly by the majority who support Muhyiddin.
Tun Faisal suggested the turmoil benefits Bersatu’s political rivals, namely Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
“The biggest beneficiary, the ones who profit the most, are Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Harapan,” he asserted. “That’s why I do not see this as an internal matter. I see external elements.”
He elaborated that a cohesive Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional (PN) pose a significant threat to the current government, giving them a motive to encourage internal dissent.
This theory, he said, explains the series of events that has destabilised the party, from public disagreements to statutory declarations (SDs) calling for a leadership change.
He pointed to conflicting narratives surrounding the 120 SDs that were supposedly signed to pressure Muhyiddin to step down. According to him, the purpose of these SDs was never clear, with different proponents offering different reasons for their existence.
“So, I think some people were not clear on what was actually happening, and some were not clear on why they were signing,” he said, concluding that the party’s troubles are not as severe as they are portrayed.
“The situation is not like that,” he insisted.
While he acknowledged that a “crisis” exists within the party concerning its leadership, he maintained that it is being contained and handled through internal processes, including the appeals board.
He urged party members to respect the decisions made at the annual general assembly and to focus their energy on winning the upcoming Sabah state election and preparing for the 16th general election.
“We need to go back to our focus and our larger purpose,” he concluded.
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. – November 9, 2025