Woeful Weekend For Bersatu As Party Faces Leadership Crisis
High-level expulsions, division dissolutions and digital sabotage leave the opposition party in chaos and fires to put out.
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Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, or just Bersatu for short, is finding it difficult to live up to its name as it was plunged into a severe leadership crisis characterised by high-level expulsions, the dissolution of local divisions, and even digital sabotage over just one weekend.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition’s component party over 14 and 15 February 2026.
High-level expulsions and leadership reshuffle
The crisis escalated on Friday the 13th (the kind of timing conspiracy theorists live for) when the party’s disciplinary board sacked Deputy President Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin along with 16 other members including three members of parliament and two state assemblymen.
According to The Edge, the sackings followed a joint statement by 16 Bersatu lawmakers (roughly two thirds of the party’s MPs) calling for party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to resign.
Bersatu secretary general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said in a statement on Friday that the decision to expel Hamzah was made by the party’s disciplinary council, citing a breach of Clause 9.1.4 of the party constitution, which relates to disciplinary actions against members for violating party rules or acting against its interests.
Three other lawmakers were also reported to have been sacked under the same clause, namely Fathul Huzir Ayob (Gerik MP), Azahari Hasan (Padang Rengas MP), and Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang MP), who has been under suspension since October 2025 over disciplinary issues.
Hamzah, who is also the Larut MP, has been accused of backing efforts to unseat Muhyiddin as president for some time now, The Edge reported.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin chaired a special Supreme Council meeting on Saturday (14 February) to appoint Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu to take over the duties of Deputy President, according to Malay Mail.
Dissolution of party divisions
Following Hamzah’s expulsion, several key Bersatu divisions disbanded in protest, citing a loss of confidence in Muhyiddin’s leadership.
Among them is the Larut division, which dissolved with immediate effect after its leadership, including 48 branches, backed Hamzah.
Its Lembah Pantai division unanimously agreed to dissolve after attending a “reset” solidarity program for the sacked Deputy President, as reported by The Star. A source of the news daily also said that more divisions are expected to follow suit, including ones in Selangor, Pahang, Perak and Sabah.
Meanwhile, Sinar Harian reported Bersatu’s Johor Associate Wing chief Datuk Tan Lek Khang also resigned, leading to the dissolution of its public complaints bureau.
The party’s Facebook page was hacked for hours
On Valentine’s Day, Bersatu’s official Facebook page was hijacked for nearly 15 hours by an unknown party.
The hackers posted 21 updates, including a banner urging Muhyiddin to step down and content praising Hamzah.
Some of the content posted by the hackers were “troll” posts meant to ridicule the party with sarcasm.
On Sunday morning (15 February) the party successfully regained control of its official Facebook page.
According to a statement, Bersatu Youth information chief Harris Idaham Rashid said the administrator responsible for the rogue posts was removed from the account, and control was returned to authorised party officials.
The sacking of Hamzah may strain Bersatu’s ties with PAS
Politicial analysts say the thinned relationship between PAS and Bersatu is expected to deteriorate further following Hamzah’s departure, as he was considered to be the bridge between both parties.
In a Free Malaysia Today report, Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia said: “Now that Hamzah is out, Muhyiddin is on his own, and I doubt he has a good relationship with PAS”.
Meanwhile, Mazlan Ali of University Teknologi Malaysia said that the removal of Hamzah and his allies from Bersatu would cause unease in PAS about Bersatu and Muhyiddin himself, considering how close Hamzah is with the Islamist political party.
Several news outlets have also reported PAS as Hamzah’s next possible political destination, among others.
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