Azmin said Wan Saiful’s remarks at a press conference this week showed a failure to rely on facts and knowledge and reflected a culture of slander that risked further dividing the party, Utusan Malaysia reported.

“They live on slander. We rely on facts and knowledge. Calmly, we move forward.

“Every struggle has its challenges. Serve sincerely and honestly, wherever we are,” he was quoted as saying.

Azmin, the Hulu Kelang assemblyman, also brushed off speculation about his ties with PAS, insisting that relations with the party in Selangor and on the national level remain strong.

Wan Saiful had said Azmin was unfit to lead Bersatu as long as the controversy surrounding the 2019 video remained unresolved.

He claimed to have received “new information” suggesting that the video was authentic, saying this revelation had shifted his support although he was previously among Azmin’s closest allies.

The clip allegedly showed Azmin with another man at a hotel in Sandakan. Haziq Aziz, the Santubong PKR Youth chief at the time, subsequently released a video confession naming himself and Azmin as the two men in the clip.

Azmin, who was then the economic affairs minister and PKR deputy president, denied the allegation, calling it a plot to end his political career.

Several Bersatu state chapters called for disciplinary action against Wan Saiful following his remarks.