Cracks in Umno appear to have reached the grassroots, with members in Umno divisions and branches nationwide split over whether to support the party president.
Social media posts by grassroots Umno members on supporting or criticising Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are heating up as both sides work on their narratives to gain support.
Sources in state Umno chapters said party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahidi Hamidi no longer enjoyed unquestioned support from grassroots leaders.
"Division leaders in the same states have yet to agree on issuing a collective press statement to express their unanimous stand that they no longer support Muhyiddin's leadership.
"Not all are with Zahid anymore. Friends in other states are saying the same thing too about their areas," sources told the New Straits Times.
Another party source said several grassroots leaders wanted to break from tradition of being a yes-man to the party leadership, citing the severity of the Covid-19 situation in the country as why the current government needs to stay.
"It's a simple logic. Malaysia needs to get back up, which means incessant politicking needs to stop because it is distracting everyone from focusing on the real issue, which is the current state of the people in the country.
"Division and branch leaders are closer to the community, so they are more exposed to blunt questions by the grassroots.
"Now, they have to take a stand on whether to get involved in politics or work for the people," the source said, claiming that the number of grassroots members losing confidence in Zahid's leadership had increased by the day.
In recent weeks, Umno grassroots have shared on social media and messaging applications their stand on the political squabbles.
Some divisions in Umno have started to express their views openly, such as Hulu Selangor division chief Datuk Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan, who said the party should be wise in handling its "internal struggles".
Mat Nadzari said Umno needed to get rid of its "big brother" image and focus instead on upholding the constitution by respecting the king's decree, as well as the needs of the people by continuing the work of Umno ministers.
National Professors Council chairman Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said since grassroots leaders were more open to criticism by ordinary party members and the community, support for the top leadership was expected to change.
"When grassroots leaders meet the people during door-to-door visits or while distributing aid, they will be bombarded with questions like ,'why does Umno continue to do this (politicking) during the Covid-19 (outbreak)?'.
"How are the leaders going to answer all the questions? While leaders at the top are divided, the same goes with the grassroots too."
Following Zahid's announcement that the Umno Supreme Council had decided to revoke its support for Muhyiddin, 21 Umno members of parliament — led by vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob — broke ranks and said they preferred to continue working in the government during the current health crisis.
The decision by Ismail Sabri and the other MPs to continue their work to ensure that the country reached herd immunity by October has been applauded by analysts.
To date, two Umno ministers have resigned, including Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, who left his post as the energy and natural resources minister, and higher education minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin also stepped down as non-executive chairman of Boustead Holdings Bhd, while Supreme Council member and Wanita Umno secretary Datuk Rosni Sohar resigned as a member of the management board of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation. - NST
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