In a poem posted on Facebook, Hassan seemed to refer to remarks by Umno Supreme Council member Shabery Cheek, who yesterday cautioned Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders against making statements that could jeopardise the Anwar Ibrahim-led administration.

Shabery had warned of a “virus” that toppled the PH administration in 2020 after only 22 months in power, saying it appeared to remain active and could claim its “second victim”.

He said PH leaders must refrain from publicly criticising the government as it was made up of various parties and coalitions, and instead use the proper internal channels to convey their misgivings.

Shabery added that the government was currently sitting atop a “Bailey bridge”, which he said could collapse if members of parties within the government continued to antagonise one another.

However, Hassan appeared to mock Shabery in his poem, saying “everyone should remain quiet or else the screws of the Bailey bridge will loosen”.

“For the sake of stability, don’t rock the boat or it will sink,” the senior Johor PKR leader said.

In his tongue-in-cheek poem, Hassan goes on to “suggest” that corruption must never be spoken of again and that the “court cluster” was now a taboo term.

The “court cluster” refers to prominent Umno leaders, including the party’s president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and former prime minister Najib Razak, who are either on trial or have been convicted on charges such as criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering.