Intensity and insanity at Umno HQ?

KUALA LUMPUR – Insanity is described as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. This was thoroughly evident at the Umno Supreme Council meeting last night.

The atmosphere throughout the day at the party’s headquarters in Menara Dato’ Onn here was intense as it hosted Barisan Nasional and later the coalition’s lynchpin Umno in two separate sessions. Despite political change reaching a fever pitch, last night’s outcome was all but anti-climatic.

To be sure, the events leading up to the Supreme Council meeting was dramatic. 

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday met the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to propose placing the country under emergency rule amid criticism that the prime minister, due to his razor-thin parliamentary majority, would have his budget bill defeated. This in turn would translate to a vote of no confidence and a collapse of his government.

The Agong, after a meeting with the Conference of Rulers, denied Muhyiddin’s request on Sunday, setting off fresh rumours that the prime minister had been pressed to resign. But Muhyiddin did not. 

The Agong, on the other hand, issued a warning shot telling politicians to stop politicking and prioritise the wellbeing of the country, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

The following day Umno and Barisan Nasional proceeded to organise two pow-wows to discuss Muhyiddin’s royal snub.

By then, there was an expectation that Umno would do something drastic given that three weeks ago, the party threatened to quit Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional and said it would continue working with the prime minister on certain terms and conditions – the same premise Umno laid out yesterday.

Another sign of repeat was when the party reaffirmed its initial position to not work with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and opposition party DAP. Was this not the same stance it took more than two weeks ago?

But the media expected something else. They expected a unifying consensus physically delivered by its leadership, especially after staking out the meeting for nearly four hours, only to be given a disappointing five-paragraph press release.

Party leaders dashed out of the lifts with some offering a “no comment” when approached while others completely ignored requests for reply over the resolutions of the meeting. 

Some bigwigs spotted during that exit rush include stalwarts Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Kedah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Umno youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

They whizzed past the press and entered their vehicles without saying a single word.

Maybe they should have said something to ease party grassroots who were already unnerved during the earlier BN session due to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Multimedia and Communications Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin.

Najib mooted cooperation with Anwar while Zahidi blamed Malaysian voters for the political quagmire the country is in. Taboos across all fronts.

Despite the fanfare, Umno has found itself back at square one, a subservient partner in the disconnected Perikatan Nasional pact led by Muhyiddin and his splinter party Bersatu. – The Vibes, October 27, 2020