Key takeaways from Umno AGM

UMNO AGM | The 2019 edition of the Umno annual general assembly saw clear messages being conveyed to the party leadership.

The first key takeaway was that the party grassroots were fully behind party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and urged other leaders to fall in line.

Since winning the presidency last June, Zahid has been thrown many challenges.

He was repeatedly brought to the MACC over graft investigations last year, and struggled to contain the exodus of MPs from Umno.

Eventually, he was pressured into taking leave in December last year.

After acting Umno president Mohamad Hasan managed to stem the tide and lead the party to three by-election victories, Zahid made a surprise return and resumed his position on June 30.

Soon after his return, however, disgruntlement among some party leaders arose.

Just two weeks after Zahid's return, Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz (above, right) and former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin (above, left) chided Zahid for making unilateral decisions for the party and urged him to "behave like a president".

In October, former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein was accused of leading a group of MPs in a plot to topple the federal government.

Things came to a head when Hishammuddin and several other Umno MPs were spotted at Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali's house for "dinner" on Nov 18.

At the Umno general assembly however, the party delegates would have none of this, demanding that Zahid must served out his mandate as their leader and no other.

Umno delegates had made it clear to Zahid that it will be his vision of charting Umno's path back to Putrajaya through the front door in the next general election.

Zahid, in his closing remarks, acknowledged this endorsement and proclaimed that there was only one captain of the Umno vessel, but not before declaring that he has no intentions of arguing with his crew.

The second takeaway was that the party grassroots fully believe Muafakat Nasional was the new armada which Umno will be sailing in to Putrajaya.

In the preceeding debates, many delegates pushed for the formalising of Muafakat Nasional, mostly based on the belief that the new entity was well received by voters during the Tanjung Piai by-election.

However, many were still unsure about whether Muafakat Nasional would be a formal entity or a loose coalition.

After hearing from the delegates, Zahid made it clear that Muafakat Nasional will be a formal coalition by May next year.

The elephant in the room, which was not addressed during the AGM, was the fact that Muafakat Nasional meant having to distribute seats with their former arch rival-turned-partner PAS.

Both Umno and PAS traditionally square off during the elections.

Interestingly, the party decided to amend Article 3 of its constitution, rearranging its three main priorities from "bangsa, agama dan negara" (race, religion and country) to "Islam, race and country".

On the surface, this would appear as though Umno was pivoting towards the same brand of politics as PAS, which raises the question if this move meant that they were in competition.

However, also taking cue from the delegates, Zahid announced that Umno will take a more moderate approach to racial issues from now on, adopting "not too rigid, too racist and too liberal a party" approach.

In the past, Umno AGM's had a reputation for Chinese or DAP bashing. This time round, that was rather subdued.

This could likely indicate that Umno was now positioning itself as the moderate Malay component of Muafakat Nasional, one that is suited for a more urban landscape. - Mkini