Umno has made it clear that a general election will take place this year.
In light of this, one salient question has emerged - who will be Umno and BN's candidate for prime minister and their "poster boy" for the 15th general election (GE15)?
There are three main candidates in the mix, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, his deputy Mohamad Hasan, and incumbent Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Umno supreme council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin told reporters yesterday that the matter will be discussed by the party's top five leaders - Zahid, Mohamad, Ismail Sabri and two other vice-presidents.
While Ismail Sabri might seem like the right choice to some, party dynamics may result in him only serving for a single term.
In normal practice, it is the Umno president cum BN chairperson who is the prime minister candidate.
However, Zahid is beleaguered by corruption cases and an earlier reported bid to become the prime minister candidate last year allegedly failed to gain enough support.
Mohamad, who is popularly known as Tok Mat, meanwhile, is not an MP - a prerequisite for the premiership.
Thus, when Umno ousted former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, the only viable and most senior lawmaker who could become prime minister was Ismail Sabri - who is the top Umno vice-president.
Ismail Sabri is in fact the first prime minister in Malaysia who is not the head of his party, and a second term may be difficult to pull off.
His decision yesterday to toe the party line on snap polls, despite earlier resistance, will likely weaken his position as a top contender as the Bera MP will be told to not rise above his station.
Zahid could try, or back someone else
Zahid will likely be gunning for the position himself, using BN's successes in Johor and Malacca to show that BN is not weighed down by his corruption cases.
Critics have accused Zahid of trying to get his corruption charges dropped, and being in the top post could be beneficial to his cause.
While he is unpopular among the current crop of Umno MPs, as president, he could reset the board and field his supporters in a majority of seats in order to secure enough backing for his bid to become prime minister.
His chances will, however, be dashed if he is convicted before snap polls are called.
Under the Federal Constitution, convicts can't contest an election even if they're not jailed and are appealing their case.
It's the same clause that puts former premier Najib Abdul Razak out of the running, although he has secured a stay on conviction at the Court of Appeal which could open a door for him to contest in GE15.
With the corruption cases against him, Zahid thus makes a risky candidate for the prime minister post.
Which is where his deputy, Mohamad, comes in.
Tok Mat might take it all
There is strong speculation that the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar is eyeing both the prime minister post and the Umno presidency.
Zahid even teased Mohamad about this during the Umno general assembly.
Mohamad served as Umno president between December 2018 and July 2019 when Zahid was forced to go on garden leave after the party suffered from a wave of defections.
It was under his watch that Umno started making a comeback, scoring three by-election victories in Cameron Highlands, Semenyih, and his own state seat Rantau.
He is also unencumbered by corruption charges, making him a more viable candidate than Zahid.
Securing the prime minister spot would also smooth the way for Mohamad to become Umno president when party polls are held after GE15.
Zahid, however, can decide to back Ismail Sabri for a second term if he wants to frustrate Mohamad - whom he joked yesterday may only get a chance to become prime minister in GE16.
But even if Umno and BN name a candidate for prime minister, there could be a royal factor that changes things, Zahid implied yesterday.
"When the time comes, definitely we have our candidates but as you know in Johor when our poster boy was Hasni Mohammad… you know (what happened).
"I think for this coming GE, as u know (the current) PM is Ismail Sabri, but I don’t think the poster boy is material for us to promote now or later because it is up to the Agong to decide," he told a press conference after closing the Umno general assembly.
Johor Umno chief Hasni had been promised to be BN's menteri besar candidate in the recently concluded state election.
However, his return to office was thwarted after a "higher power" reportedly preferred Machap assemblyperson Onn Hafiz Ghazi to become menteri besar.
Onn Hafiz has since been sworn in. - Mkini
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