An Oct 23 letter, signed by 16 Bersatu MPs and addressed to party president Muhyiddin Yassin, urged him to immediately address “internal issues” within Bersatu to prevent the party from “falling victim to the ego of any individual leader”.

One of the letter’s signatories confirmed the contents of the letter, which FMT has sighted.

“We fear that these developments will make the party appear weak in the eyes of the public,” the letter said.

“We trust that (you) have the magnanimity to understand and address our serious concerns and to take immediate steps to rectify this situation.”

The signatories criticised the sacking of Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan and the suspension of Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, calling the decisions “unwise” and detrimental to the party’s image and momentum.

They claimed the disciplinary action had disrupted the growing support for Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) budget proposal, recently presented by opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin.

“Public attention towards the proposal was immediately diverted once the dismissals and suspensions were announced,” the letter read.

The MPs also viewed the action as attempts to undermine PN’s preparations ahead of the Sabah state election on Nov 29.

They further objected to the party’s decision to summon Hamzah before the Bersatu disciplinary board, describing it as “a move that makes absolutely no sense”.

In a podcast interview with former law minister Zaid Ibrahim yesterday, Wan Saiful claimed that Hamzah, who is Bersatu deputy president, was summoned by the party’s disciplinary board to explain why he was unable to “control” him (Wan Saiful), but Hamzah did not attend.

Wan Saiful was sacked by Bersatu recently for violating the party’s constitution and code of conduct. Wan Fayhsal was also suspended for the same reason.

Bersatu’s disciplinary board also expelled four division chiefs; Azrudin Idris (Hang Tuah Jaya), Faizal Asmar (Pengerang), Fadhli Ismail (Ipoh Timur) and Isa Saidi (Ampang).