Bersatu Youth demanded DPM post be given to party, document reveals
According to meeting minutes, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal also offered self to replace Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin
(The Vibes) – It appears there is truth to speculations that Bersatu was lobbying for the currently vacant deputy prime minister’s post to be given to the party.
This is spelt out in minutes of a Bersatu Youth meeting chaired by its chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal that took place on April 16, that highlighted some of the intrinsic discussions within the party.
The main agenda of the meeting had focused on the party’s humiliating outing at the Johor election, where it only secured two of the 56 seats on offer.
According to the document sighted by The Vibes, Wan Fayhsal, in addressing the 28 meeting attendees, had said that the party must demand that the deputy prime minister come from Bersatu.
The sought-after position has been up for grabs since Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed prime minister on August 20 last year, with Bersatu rumoured to be heavily pushing for the post since.
Ismail Sabri instead opted to appoint four senior ministers, including two from Bersatu and one from Umno, ostensibly to appease both parties.
It was said that appointing a Bersatu deputy prime minister would not have sat well with Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who led a group of over a dozen party MPs to withdraw support for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in early August last year.
With Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s waning influence in Bersatu, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had been tipped as the front runner to be Ismail Sabri’s deputy, although this has yet to materialise.
Apart from losing the prime minister’s post, Bersatu has also seen a number of high-profile members quit the party recently, including Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, who left to join Parti Bangsa Malaysia on May 26.
