Zahid plays victim card, but party members keeping mum

 

Last week, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi painted a bleak picture for himself. On Feb 2, he "apologised" for not having the power to influence Umno MPs in the cabinet. 

Two days later, he revealed that he and five other Umno MPs had access to only a fraction of the government allocations that backbenchers would normally receive. 

Vocal Umno leaders have been notably silent on this revelation. Many declined to comment when contacted by Malaysiakini.

Several analysts told Malaysiakini the silence by Umno figures, who would normally rally behind any party president at the first sign of trouble, could signify opposition to his leadership or an expectation that Zahid was on the way out.

Universiti Malaya's Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi believes that Umno MPs and party leaders will not stand up for Zahid in order to protect their own positions.

Given that Bersatu led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin holds executive power, many Umno leaders are uncertain as to whether the "president's men" could survive in the 15th general election.

Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi

"This is a trait that has emerged after BN and Umno lost the 2018 general election.

"If Zahid's group were to win in GE15, these hypocrites will try and return to make amends with them," Awang Azman said.

National Professors Council senior fellow Jeniri Amir said the silent members could view Zahid as a "problematic leader" and they do not want to be seen backing him.

"So the best way is for them to remain silent. By keeping silent, this is a clear message to the members and the people that he (Zahid) no longer enjoys the support of the party," Jeniri told Malaysiakini.

Political analyst Azmi Hassan said the silence was an indication of Umno's internal turmoil, where there appeared to be a concerted movement to oust Zahid.

"It is undeniable that there is a movement (to oust Zahid) and the RM100,000 allocation is one of the strategies, I believe, they (Perikatan Nasional) are using to break Umno apart," Azmi said.

'PN's strategy could backfire'

The analysts also agree that PN's strategy, if true, could bring about unwanted consequences due to its unjust nature that targeted the voters.

Azmi said the strategy to split Umno lacked finesse and voters would easily see through PN's intentions.

"For me, if that is indeed PN's intention, it would certainly backfire.

"It is illogical that in one party there are different allocations from the government," he said.

"And those not from the party, they will see PN as being unjust to their own partner.

"This is a negative perception, and that is why I say that it would backfire," Azmi added.

Jeniri Amir

Jeniri also noted that past general election results have shown that development issues had ranked second to a candidate's personal connection to their areas.

"Sometimes people don't care... Whether it is RM100,000 or over RM3 million in allocations, I think that may not be the key determining factor.

"At the end of the day, it all goes back to the individual leaders' connections," he said.

Zahid claimed that others who also received RM100,000 were Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan, Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz and Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub.

Both Nazri and Ahmad Jazlan have withdrawn their support for the PN government.

Ahmad Maslan, who is Umno secretary-general, previously called for the next 15th general election to be held by the first quarter of this year.

Najib, on the other hand, has kept up his criticisms of various policies introduced under Muhyiddin's administration.

Zahid is a six-term MP for Bagan Datuk while the other four have similarly defended their seats across multiple general elections.

Aside from Zahid, only Nazri had spoken up about the budget cut, calling it a "punishment" to the people. - Mkini