You didn’t quit, so why should I, Bukit Gantang MP tells Hamzah

Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal insisted that he would not resign as an MP despite calls from Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin.

(FMT) – The Bukit Gantang MP said he was merely emulating Hamzah, who also resisted calls to give up his seat when he crossed over from Umno to Bersatu in 2019.

“This matter has occurred before, involving Hamzah, so what is his logic in urging me to resign? He did the same but did not resign, despite calls from Umno.

“Thus, I am adopting the same stance by observing past events as a guideline,” Syed Hussin told FMT.

Yesterday, Hamzah urged Syed Hussin to resign following the latter’s move to support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

“If he is as great as has been claimed, he should be willing to resign and prove that the people will stay with him.

“Stand again and we’ll see if the people’s mandate is with him or PN,” he said on Malaysia Gazette’s Skop MG programme.

When Syed Hussin announced he was backing Anwar, he said he was disappointed in PN’s refusal to negotiate with the prime minister on allocations for opposition MPs.

His move followed that of Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim, Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli), who said they were doing so for the sake of their constituents.

Syed Hussin said he was not quitting the party as he merely supported the prime minister, adding that Hamzah should not be hypocritical.

“He should be consistent and act gentlemanly,” he said.

On Feb 12, 2019, Hamzah and six former Umno leaders joined Bersatu after the former was hammered in the 15th general election.

The Larut MP was joined by Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, Latiff Ahmad, Rosol Wahid, Fasiah Mohd Fakeh, Shahbudin Yahya and Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.