In an interview with FMT, Muhyiddin said he was confident that Azmin – who first became an elected representative in 1999 – could use his political experience to improve Bersatu’s fortunes.

“I have complete trust in him to improve the party’s administration and to pay close attention to grassroots issues… Azmin is very familiar with this because of his years of political experience.

“Azmin will help Bersatu become stronger and undergo various reforms… After six years, it’s time for us to implement changes,” he said without elaborating.

Muhyiddin added that Azmin, the party’s Selangor chairman who joined Bersatu from PKR four years ago, had already started preparing for his new role.

Azmin was previously rumoured to have declined the position in order to focus on Perikatan Nasional’s efforts to capture Selangor at the next election.

However, he confirmed yesterday that he had accepted the post which Muhyiddin offered during a special party conference in July.

The Hulu Kelang assemblyman also said he was ready to take on the responsibility of raising Bersatu’s standing, and expressed confidence that he could play a part in addressing current political, economic, and social challenges.

During the Bersatu convention in July, Muhyiddin had unveiled a “formula” to avoid leadership clashes. Under the plan, secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin was proposed as deputy president while Azmin would take over Hamzah’s previous role.

Deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu meanwhile would step down to compete for a vice-president’s position alongside incumbents Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee and Putrajaya MP Radzi Jidin.

Muhyiddin and Hamzah won the election uncontested while Faizal, Kiandee, and Radzi secured the three vice-presidential seats. Azmin did not contest any position.