It has always been a PM with Umno blood

 

Is Malaysia going back to Umno’s rule? This is the question being asked by Malaysians as they watch the shifting of political alliances, something that has left Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government in limbo.

Umno’s announcement that its MPs are withdrawing support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) has effectively made the government fall, democratically or legally. But then again, PN may do some political manoeuvring or interpret the Federal Constitution the way it wants. This, after all, has been the order of the day lately.

Nevertheless, it appears in all likelihood that Umno, the Titanic of Malaysian politics which sank momentarily in May 2018 but got back its sail after 18 months via the PN-led government’s coup, will be back in the driver’s seat.

It had been pushing for one of its MPs to be given the deputy prime minister’s post for a long time. After much pressure, Muhyiddin relented by appointing Ismail Sabri Yaakob to the post to save PN from falling. However, that appears to be insufficient.

The outcome of the past week’s political manoeuvring just points to one thing: Umno will be back in charge. It’s only a matter of when.

But has Umno ever been out of power in Malaysia? Since the first election in 1959, Umno has been the lead party of the ruling coalitions and the prime minister has always been from Umno.

Even when Pakatan Harapan won, it was former Umno head honcho Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was in charge. His deputy was former Umno member Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of former Umno deputy president Anwar Ibrahim. Under Mahathir’s watch, many key portfolios were held by former Umno leaders.

Then came the Sheraton Move in February 2020, which saw Muhyiddin, who left Umno to form Bersatu with Mahathir, becoming the prime minister with the support of all the Malay and Muslim-based parties. More than 40 years of his political life has been with Umno, the party which is said to be his flesh and blood.

So, Malaysia has not seen a prime minister without Umno blood running in him. The only two times that the nation has had a prime minister who did not come directly from Umno have been times of tumult and political instability.

This has made many Malaysians wonder if Umno is the only party that can lead a multiracial coalition and safeguard the interests of Malaysians of all races and religions, something that it may have failed to do in some ways in order to keep the Malay support intact.

So, the stage is now set for the return of Umno, directly or indirectly. Those who had been saying that the last general election was Umno’s Waterloo were probably deluding themselves or were indulging in wishful thinking.

I was among those who thought it would be impossible to sink this Titanic as it is cash rich and entrenched in most villages and the Malay heartland, which is important for winning political power.

Mahathir tried hard to break Umno when he was in PH by luring its MPs, but only 13 succumbed. The remaining 39 stood their ground despite being harassed.

Some are saying the moment an Umno man is appointed prime minister and the party leads any ruling coalition, all the turncoats now in Bersatu or who have classified themselves as independents supporting Muhyiddin are likely to try to claw their way back.

As usual, they will cite the oft-repeated phrase of “I am doing this for my nation, race and religion”. The loyal leaders who never left Umno even during its darkest moments will have little choice but to accept them with open arms. Such is Malaysian politics.

For better or for worse, we are on the brink of a leadership change, but not necessarily a new government. The math points to one thing: Umno is set to take charge of running the country once again and set to become the powerhouse it once was. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.