Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's position as the top leader in his party is becoming increasingly tenuous as internal grumbles grow over his leadership.
Zahid had the unenviable task of reviving Umno after his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak led BN to defeat in the 2018 general election amid the 1MDB scandal, for which the latter is now facing charges for.
However, Zahid himself has 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering hanging over his head, which made his position in government untenable when Umno managed to return to power under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance.
PN is led by Bersatu, which quit Pakatan Harapan in late February, leading to the collapse of the government. It had cooperated with a group of PKR defectors led by Gombak MP Azmin Ali.
Even though Umno was back in power but with Bersatu in the driver seat, Zahid was not appointed to any position in government amid his corruption charges. Instead, his more junior party colleagues were made ministers.
While Zahid could blame the corruption charges on the previous Harapan government, some of his recent manoeuvrings have also undermined his position as Umno president.
His apparent lack of interest in trying to prevent Umno MPs who are speculated to be planning a defection to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim's side has raised alarm among some Umno leaders.
In contrast, Zahid's deputy Mohamad Hasan and BN secretary-general Annuar Musa have come out strongly against speculation that Umno MPs may be defecting to Anwar.
Zahid last month confirmed that many Umno MPs have voiced support for Anwar, who is attempting to oust Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. The veteran Umno man claimed he couldn't stop them.
However, Umno's Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman begged to differ.
Zahid told to assert control over MPs
Instead, Tajuddin said the onus is on Zahid to assert control over his own party MPs.
"The president needs to assert control over the party and the MPs in the government. Do not allow them to do as they please as they are part of the party.
"That is part of leadership. I hope the president will understand his role and responsibilities," Tajuddin told Malaysiakini.
Tajuddin added that Umno MPs will follow him if he showed leadership.
"If he has leadership, they will follow. If they do not follow, then ask them what is wrong," he said.
Zahid and Anwar's relationship goes back a long time even though they are now political rivals.
When then prime minister and Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar, who was his deputy in both the government and party in 1998, Zahid spoke out against the former, resulting in his detention under the now-defunct Internal Security Act.
Zahid, who was the Umno Youth chief at the time, was seen as a close ally to Anwar then.
Zahid returned to Umno's fold in 1999 but Anwar went to jail. Their path eventually diverged as Anwar's allies set up PKR to challenge Umno.
Fast forward to the present day, Anwar on Sept 23 claimed that he had secured a majority in the Dewan Rakyat to form the new government and take over as prime minister.
Hours after Anwar's announcement, Zahid issued a statement which lent credence to Anwar's claim.
Anwar declined to reveal who or how many MPs are supporting him. He insisted that he will only do so after proving his majority to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong had been unavailable due to medical treatment since Sept 21. The ruler was discharged yesterday.
'Umno bullied by Bersatu'
Umno's failure to secure the chief minister position after the Sabah election despite winning with its allies has also further weakened Zahid's position.
Umno's choice for chief minister Bung Moktar Radin, who heads its Sabah chapter, was instead sworn in as deputy chief minister. Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Mohd Noor became the new chief minister.
Yesterday, Zahid's deputy Mohamad nudged him to chart the party's future after the Sabah setback for Umno.
"What happened in Sabah requires Umno to rethink its political approach. If Sabah is to become an example, Umno's sustainability, influence and visibility will be affected in the short-term and become weakened in the long-term," he had said.
Mohamad also alleged that Umno's allies had backed independent candidates in the Sabah election against Umno.
Umno Veterans secretary-general Mustapha Yaakub echoed Mohamad's views.
"Tok Mat (Mohamad) wants Umno to decide its direction in the 15th general election - whether it is to strengthen Muafakat Nasional with PAS or whether it will also involve Bersatu.
"Looking at (what happened in) Sabah, Umno was bullied by Bersatu," he said.
Meanwhile Umno supreme council member Armand Azha Abu Hanifah said Umno must be consistent in its fight against Harapan of which Anwar is the chairperson. He also singled out DAP.
"It's only been a few months (in the PN government) and we are forgetting who is the real enemy," he said.
Any cooperation with Anwar will likely mean collaborating with DAP and Amanah as they are PKR's coalition partners.
"If we continue like this, I am sure we will be punished by the people," added Armand.
Following the rumbles of discontent, Zahid has promised to present a comprehensive report on the party's future to the Umno supreme council. - Mkini
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