Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin officially returned as Opposition Leader in Malaysia's Dewan Rakyat on June 18, 2026, confirmed by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul who received formal notification from Perikatan Nasional chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan that day [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Hamzah had previously served as Opposition Leader until May 20, 2026. He was succeeded by Kemaman MP Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar from May 21 until June 10 [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Hamzah was expelled from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on February 13, 2026, which led to the temporary change in leadership [6, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9].
His reinstatement followed a meeting held on June 17 involving 62 MPs. Support came strongly from all 43 PAS MPs and 19 MPs aligned with Hamzah's 'Reset' movement, securing the majority needed to select the Opposition Leader, which is determined by opposition MPs rather than party hierarchy, as Perikatan Nasional information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa explained [11, 2, 3, 5]. The meeting also had 6 opposition MPs who did not support Hamzah [11].
Upon his return, Hamzah took the traditional frontbench seat for the Opposition Leader in Dewan Rakyat, sitting next to PN chairman and Kemaman MP Ahmad Samsuri. Meanwhile, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's seat was moved to Block E upon his request, positioned several seats away from his previous seat [1, 6, 3, 5, 10].
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul stated, "Effective from June 18, 2026, YB Larut has returned to the position of Leader of the Opposition," and confirmed he had received the official letter detailing the reappointment and related seating changes [4, 10].
The Second Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament is scheduled to run from June 22 to July 16, 2026. This session will be the first parliamentary meeting since Hamzah's return as Opposition Leader [1, 11, 2, 5, 10].
