KUALA LUMPUR – In a political career spanning decades, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has participated in scores of Umno general assemblies, but few will be as significant to him as this year’s gathering.
The four-day meeting that commenced last night will be key in the deputy prime minister’s quest at quelling any internal discontent following his decision to lend Umno’s support to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in forming a unity government.
More importantly, it gives him the opportunity to fortify his position within the party – which is particularly crucial ahead of a pivotal internal election due by May this year, with knives already out for him.
Khairy Jamaluddin, who contested and lost the race for the Umno presidency in its last election in 2018, indicated on Tuesday that he and his allies are planning to mount a challenge for the top leadership posts.
Former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is also known to be against the mainstream Zahid-led Umno faction and may contest for one of the top positions.
Moreover with the ongoing political crisis in Sabah affecting Umno, and its state chapter reported to be growing increasingly frustrated by Zahid’s apparent lack of action and intervention, the president’s position is, by no stretch of the imagination, safe.
Anwar and his coalition Pakatan Harapan will want to keep a keen eye on the goings-on and outcome of the Umno general assembly, with the fate of the government largely hinging on Zahid and his party’s support.
After all, it was Zahid who went against Umno’s earlier resolution to not cooperate with Anwar and DAP came hell or high water by eventually offering its support, provoking the ire of many party members.
There are now growing concerns that should a new president be elected, Umno – along with its close allies from Sarawak – might pull the plug on the unity government, potentially triggering its collapse and subsequently costing Zahid his deputy prime ministership.
This, however, depends if there will even be an internal poll for the top post to begin with. Certain quarters are supposedly planning to move a motion of no contest for the party presidency in the ongoing general assembly.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek told The Vibes that it is not up to the party’s highest decision-making body to decide, and instead, that the question of whether to allow an election should be up to the delegates.
Conventionally, the party tends not to challenge the presidency in past elections to ensure unity and stability. In fact, Umno has only had four internal polls in its over 70 years of history – in 1951, 1978, 1987, and most recently, 2018.
But given what is at stake and the proximity of this year’s party election, Zahid will want to mitigate risks and capitalise on the assembly to consolidate power.
Assembly as a support barometer
National Professor Council senior fellow Jeniri Amir said the assembly offers Zahid the best opportunity to clear any doubts members may have about him when he pledged support for the Anwar-led unity government.
The political observer said if the Bagan Datuk MP can translate to the grassroots that the decision was based on the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and for the sake of Umno’s survival, then this could put him in the driver’s seat to defend his presidency.
Zahid also has the benefit of deputy prime ministership that he can leverage to influence support. But whether members will be convinced is a different story, especially with a fractious party.
In this sense, the mood of the Umno general assembly will offer an indication of what type of support Zahid enjoys.
Likewise, for Khairy, Hishammuddin, and others planning a move against the president, delegates’ reception could be used as a barometer to see if there is merit to challenging the current leadership.
For what it is worth, Zahid will have two opportunities in the Umno assembly to convince delegates that he is still the right man for the job – through his two speeches. The seven-term parliamentarian is set to give his policy speech tomorrow morning before delivering his winding-up remark on Saturday evening.
By then, the prospective party leaders will have some inkling of where they stand on the popularity ranking.
Before then, Zahid could be sweating bullets, as he plays out the different potential scenarios on how he will be greeted when he addresses the Umno delegates. – The Vibes, January 12, 2023
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