For Zahid, rejection by Najib's home base probably a good thing

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi may be the preferred choice for Umno leader by party members nationwide, but not to those who are loyal to his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak.

According to The Star, who cited sources, 60 percent or 522 delegates in Pekan Umno had voted for Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to helm the post, while Zahid trailed by 209 votes (24 percent). 

Sociopolitical analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the voting result in Pekan Umno does not reflect the sentiments of Umno members nationwide, and instead suggested that Najib’s relationship with Zahid was not as rosy as it seemed.

Awang recalled that in November 2016 – about a year after elected deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin quit the party – Zahid attempted to formalise his role as Umno number two, instead of playing the acting deputy.

“Yet, he was ignored by Najib. The Umno grassroots could see Najib's motive then," he said. "Najib distrusted Zahid, fearing his ouster.”

Awang explained that this move was perceived by grassroots as a bid to ensure that Najib’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein would eventually succeed him as Umno president.

Yesterday, Zahid won the Umno presidency by a wide margin ahead of Khairy Jamaluddin, while Tengku Razaleigh came a distant third. Hishammuddin stayed out from the party polls altogether.

The result, said Awang, reflected the Umno grassroots’ belief that Najib was the cause of the party’s misfortunes and flocked instead to Zahid, who played the role of loyal lieutenant to the Umno president in recent years.

“He is seen to be a victim of Najib’s politics,” he said.

Good news for Zahid

Meanwhile, former Bandar Tun Razak secretary Zaharin Mohd Yasin, who is also a prominent commentator on Umno affairs, said that Pekan Umno’s rejection is actually good for the new Umno president.

He said this showed that Zahid will not be weighed down by the issues surrounding his former party boss.

“I believe that Zahid will be happy with this result. At least one perception problem has been resolved,” said Zaharin, better known by his nom de plume Sang Kelambai.

However, he also noted that it has been an Umno tradition for the number two to succeed as party leader since the time of the founder Onn Jaafar.

“Zahid’s victory (is a case of the) co-pilot becoming the captain, an Umno tradition,” he wrote on his Facebook page this morning.

As for Umno’s future, Zaharin said the priority now is to groom a candidate for prime minister ahead of the next general election, because he believes that voters make their choices based on personalities rather than election pledges.

He said it was clear that Pakatan Harapan was grooming Mohamed Azmin Ali as the future prime minister, and believed that Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Johari Abdul Ghani are among Umno’s present leaders who are “prime minister material.”

“Are they prepared to offer themselves as Umno president in 2021? That is a question that needs to be answered today,” he said. - Mkini