FORMER Bersatu leader Hamidah Osman who quit the party last week has denied that she is an Umno agent, saying she resigned because  of the “culture” and lack of discipline within the party.

Breaking her silence days after calling it quits, the former vice-president said Bersatu had strayed from its original struggle. 

“If I want to do something, I will do it wholeheartedly. If I think I can’t do it, I will stop doing it. 

“And to say that I’m an Umno agent, you must remember that when I was sacked from the party for going against (Umno president) Najib (Razak), there was never talk about forming a new party.

“At that time, what was important was the struggle. I never dreamed of having a new party. So the issue of becoming an Umno agent shouldn’t arise,” she told The Malaysian Insight. 

Hamidah was sacked from Umno on November 24, 2015 for attending an opposition event in Ipoh and for criticising the party leadership. 

She had spoken out against the Najib administration and the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal. She was rumoured to have organised a talk with Dr Mahathir Mohamad as speaker to attack Najib while she was still an Umno member.

In Bersatu, however, she said there was a growing culture of disrespect as well as a reluctance on the part of the top leadership to enforce discipline.

In July, the seasoned Perak politician had pushed for disciplinary action to be taken against Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, who had accused her of being an Umno agent and blamed her for the mass resignations from the party in Perak earlier this year.

Syed Saddiq also challenged her to resign several months ago, calling her a hypocrite and telling her to leave the party if she was after high positions. 

That was the last straw, said Hamidah, who tendered her resignation as party vice-president, Gopeng divisional chief and party member on September 16.

“Because of this culture, splits in the party are prevalent and I’m afraid Bersatu will face bigger problems if this culture persists,” she said. 

She denied that she had been unhappy with party president Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to name Ahmad Faizal Azumu as Bersatu Perak state chief. 

“That was not a factor because I was already the vice-president, a higher position than the state chairman post. 

“I was just disappointed at how the selection was made, which I felt couldn’t guarantee Bersatu’s success in Perak. 

“What was more frustrating was that when I voiced out my opinion, I was labelled a traitor.”

The Syed Saddiq factor

Hamidah said she found the top leadership unwilling to take action against Syed Saddiq and felt that the party condoned his belligerence towards her.

“Many people said Syed Saddiq wouldn’t have dared to do such things without the blessing of the leadership,” she said, adding that there were many other issues that the party failed to handle well.

“I don’t think I can continue this struggle with Dr Mahathir; as I said earlier, if I want to do something I will do it wholeheartedly but today, I have lost interest, seeing a situation that I think is out of control; for me, it’s either do it or leave it.” 

Another founding member Anina Saadudin, also announced her resignation on Saturday, claiming that Bersatu “no longer practised the principles of justice, transparency, and integrity in its administration.

Syed Saddiq did not respond to The Malaysian Insight’s requests for comment. – September 20, 2017.