SENIOR Amanah leader Husam Musa has stepped down from his position as the party’s vice-president and Kelantan Pakatan Harapan chairman in protest against party president Mohamad Sabu, said sources.

They added that Husam’s resignation letter was submitted to party leadership two weeks ago.

“He let go of his elected post in the party but not his Kota Baru Amanah chief post, which he won. The letter was sent two weeks ago but to date, there has been no feedback,” a source told The Malaysian Insight.

Husam, when contacted twice by The Malaysian Insight, refused to comment on his resignation.

It is learnt that he was not satisfied with Mohamad Sabu – who is also known as Mat Sabu – on several matters.

The source said Husam felt Mat Sabu is not providing a clear political direction in terms of supporting Anwar Ibrahim or Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Mat Sabu is seen as not fully supporting Dr Mahathir and also not fully backing Anwar. It is like in the morning, he will support Anwar, then turn to Dr Mahathir in the evening.

“He will then back Anwar at night and the next morning, support Dr Mahathir. He is very weak and has no stand.

“He wants Anwar but at the same time, he wants to follow Dr Mahathir,” said the party insider.

The source added that while Husam is seen as being pro-Anwar, he, nevertheless, has a good relationship with the former prime minister.

He added that the Amanah leader is one of the individuals who initiated the Deklarasi Rakyat campaign with Dr Mahathir before the last general election.

“Husam has direct access to Dr Mahathir. Once a month, he would meet with Dr Mahathir. But he is branded as pro-Anwar,” the source added.

Husam joined Amanah after he was sacked from PAS in May 2016, and was elected Amanah vice-president and Kelantan PH chief.

In Amanah’s party polls last year, the senator did not contest to retain his post, but was still appointed as vice-president until 2022.

In the election, Mat Sabu was given the trust to be the president even though he received low votes, coming in at seventh place.

Husam is not the first Amanah leader to quit after being disappointed with party leadership.

Prior to this, Serom assemblyman Faizul Amri Adnan had relinquished his post as Johor’s Amanah committee member and education chairman last July.

He had said this was because he had lost trust in the party’s leadership at the state level and due to internal conflict in the party.

One-man show

Meanwhile, the source said Husam was also unhappy with the way Mat Sabu leads Amanah, which is not unlike a dictator.

Many important decisions in the party are not discussed with other leaders, the source said.

Mat Sabu also ignored Husam’s call to have a political bureau meeting to discuss the party’s strategy.

The source added that Mat Sabu preferred to turn to DAP to decide on party matters.

“Many of his decisions are a one-man show. Since Amanah was formed, there have been no political bureau meetings, only meetings to discuss division activities and programmes.

“Husam also does not see Mat Sabu as a strategist. Mat Sabu feels that Chinese voters are more important because when there is an issue in Amanah, he does not discuss it with friends in the party, but with DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang and Anthony Loke.” 

The source said Mat Sabu had forced Amanah committee members to support Anwar’s appointment as PH chairman even though three-quarters of the leadership agreed to give the post to Dr Mahathir.

“But the motion was stopped by Khalid Abdul Samad. He has no problem going against Mat Sabu.”

Other sources confirmed the reasons behind Husam’s resignation.

However, another party source denied that Amanah is now divided into two camps, namely, one supporting Anwar and the other aligned with Dr Mahathir.

“The grassroots will follow the party’s consensus that there is no pro-Anwar or pro-Dr Mahathir camps. For now, we are with Anwar and choose not to fight against Dr Mahathir’s Pejuang,” the source said. – September 14, 2020.