Umno AGM ends with Zahid an embattled president

UMNO AGM | Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi remains an embattled leader as curtains fell on the 72nd Umno general assembly.

The AGM was Zahid's chance to unite the party after a factional split between the old guard and those who wished to reform Umno into a more progressive party following its defeat in the 14th general election.

Many had also wanted to know the party's future direction, on whether it would focus on becoming a strong opposition, or put hope in Zahid's plans to partner with any Pakatan Harapan components to form a unity government.

However, instead of uniting the party behind a solid plan forward, Zahid must continue to battle with internal opposition.

Things started to fall apart for Zahid after he left the matter of Umno's direction open in his policy speech on Saturday night.

There he pandered to calls for a more united opposition and possible cooperation with PAS, while also claiming that Harapan would reach out to Umno to form a government. 

This mixed messaging led to criticisms that the party lacked direction from the likes of Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, who had challenged Zahid for the Umno presidency in July. 

"You said previously that we should fight the cruel Harapan government. Then you came out with a statement saying we were exploring opportunities via a JV (joint venture).

"You have to be clear as to which way you are leading the party," Khairy (photo) said.

Umno Youth had also voiced opposition to the unity government plan, with its chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki describing it as dishonourable. 

"I don't agree that our honour should be sold just to find a way to get power through the back door," Asyraf said.

Things did not improve for Zahid when his deputy Mohamad Hasan in his closing speech told delegates to "stop dreaming" about forming a unity government. 

Zahid did not take the criticism, especially those about Umno being directionless in stride.

Clearly agitated, Zahid spent over 10 minutes of his closing speech berating his critics, telling them to voice their disagreements to him personally instead of taking it public. 

And while he did back calls to focus on building a strong opposition force, Zahid refused to say that this was Umno's only option, believing that Umno should still style itself as a government-in-waiting. 

"We have to have that hope, whether it happens in five years, or tomorrow.

"We don't know what will happen in any by-election, and we don't know what will happen after any by-election. As we don't know, we must, therefore, have an open heart to accept any changes," he said.

Some support among the grassroots

Despite the opposition to his plans at the higher level, Zahid does appear to have some support among the grassroots.

Some Umno members Malaysiakini met had even warmed up to the possibility that party would join forces with PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim (photo) to form a government. 

Besides the lack of direction, Zahid's move to double down on Umno's ethnonationalism in his opening speech, and portraying the party and the Malays as besieged by other races may also spell trouble for the party. 

The move may benefit Umno's blooming partnership with PAS.

However, becoming more conservative may cause unease among progressive members who want the party to be more inclusive.

Khairy had warned in a BFM interview prior to the general assembly that if Umno swings too far to the right, that desertions may be possible.

"If it continues to change and morph into something that is unrecognisable, that would force many of us who are centrist within Umno to rethink our future.

"I hope it doesn’t get to that. I’m not interested in going anywhere else. Umno is my house," he had said.

If this were to happen, it could spell disaster for Umno which has already been hard hit by defections.

The party is down to just 49 MPs after five lawmakers quit. It is no longer the party with the highest representation in Dewan Rakyat, as it is now tied with PKR.

Umno veering to the right could also jeopardise its shaky partnership with long-term BN ally MCA, which did not attend the AGM. -Mkini