Azahari Hasan

Summary

Kapten Azahari bin Hasan is the Member of Parliament for Padang Rengas (P061), Perak, having won the seat under the Perikatan Nasional banner in GE15 with 33.4% of the vote. He was expelled from Bersatu on 13 February 2026 alongside opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin after being found to have breached the party's code of conduct, and subsequently became an independent. In June 2026, he was appointed a central committee member of the newly formed Parti Wawasan Negara (WAWASAN).

Biography

Kapten Azahari bin Hasan is a Malaysian politician and mariner who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Padang Rengas (P061), Perak, since November 2022 [1]. He is referred to by the honorific 'Kapten', reflecting his professional background as a mariner [2]. He contested GE15 under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner as a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU) candidate, winning the Padang Rengas seat with 12,931 votes (33.4%) against Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan opponents, with a majority of 3,046 [3]. He also served as the head of the Bersatu Padang Rengas division [4]. In January 2026, Azahari was summoned by the Bersatu disciplinary board after he was among a group of division leaders who called for party president Muhyiddin Yassin to step down [4]. On 13 February 2026, Bersatu's disciplinary board terminated his party membership, citing violations of Clause 9.1.4 of the party constitution, which requires members to comply with the party's constitution, code of ethics, and code of conduct [5]. He was among 16 Bersatu MPs who supported a call for Muhyiddin to step down in favour of then-deputy president Hamzah Zainudin [6]. Following his expulsion, the New Straits Times reported that Azahari disclosed he had received an 'offer' from PAS [7]. In June 2026, he was appointed as one of 25 central committee members of Parti Wawasan Negara (WAWASAN), the newly structured party led by Hamzah Zainudin [4].

Known for

Azahari Hasan is known as a mariner-turned-politician who won the Padang Rengas parliamentary seat for Perikatan Nasional in GE15. He became publicly prominent in early 2026 when he was expelled from Bersatu alongside opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, having been among the MPs who called for the Bersatu president to step down. He subsequently joined the newly formed Parti Wawasan Negara (WAWASAN) as a central committee member in June 2026.

Political positions

No detailed policy statements or recorded parliamentary positions on specific legislation have been retrieved from allowlist sources. Azahari has been publicly aligned with the faction within Bersatu that backed Hamzah Zainudin's leadership, and analysts have noted that his political grouping maintains a closer proximity to PAS and favours a Malay-Muslim political framework independent of DAP [4][8]. His move to WAWASAN, a party formed from ex-Bersatu leaders within the PN ecosystem, indicates a continued opposition-bloc positioning. No specific recorded stances on issues such as cost of living, education, or healthcare have been identified in allowlist sources.

Before politics

1. Pre-2022Served as a professional mariner, earning the rank of Captain (Kapten), prior to entering politics.⛓

Political career

1. November 2022Contested and won the Padang Rengas (P061) parliamentary seat in GE15 under the Perikatan Nasional banner as a BERSATU candidate, receiving 12,931 votes (33.4%) with a majority of 3,046.⛓
2. January 2026Summoned by the Bersatu disciplinary board after being identified as one of several Perak division leaders who publicly called for party president Muhyiddin Yassin to step down.⛓
3. 13 February 2026Expelled from Bersatu by the party's disciplinary board, alongside opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin and other MPs, for breaching Clause 9.1.4 of the party constitution. Became an independent MP.⛓
4. February 2026Following his expulsion from Bersatu, the New Straits Times reported that Azahari disclosed receiving an 'offer' from PAS.⛓
5. 17 February 2026The Bersatu Padang Rengas divisional committee dissolved the division following Azahari's expulsion from the party.⛓
6. June 2026Appointed as one of 25 central committee members of Parti Wawasan Negara (WAWASAN) at the party's extraordinary general meeting in Petaling Jaya, led by Hamzah Zainudin as president.⛓

Election history

• 2022Padang Rengas (P061)Won33.4%⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• VerifiedFactsAzahari Hasan won the Padang Rengas seat in GE15 with 12,931 votes (33.4%), a majority of 3,046, in a three-cornered contest against UMNO and PKR, with voter turnout of 78.2% among 38,686 registered voters.⛓
• GovernmentBersatu's disciplinary board, chaired by Datuk Mohd Radzi Manan, terminated Azahari's party membership effective 13 February 2026 under Clause 22.5 of the party constitution for breaching Clause 9.1.4, which requires members to comply with the party's constitution, code of ethics, and code of conduct.⛓
• OppositionAzahari was among 16 Bersatu MPs who supported party vice-president Ronald Kiandee's call for Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as Bersatu president, a move that ultimately led to his expulsion and subsequent alignment with the Hamzah-led WAWASAN grouping.⛓
• ExpertAccording to analyst Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri of Global Asia Consulting, former Bersatu leaders aligned with Hamzah's 'reset' movement, including those like Azahari, are seen as maintaining a closer relationship with PAS and will find it difficult to return to UMNO due to its association with DAP in the unity government.⛓