Ismail in total control of his, Umno’s and country’s destiny

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

While Umno seeks to portray the outcome of its recent extraordinary general meeting as a show of unity, the reality is that it is anything but that.

The man on the street knows only too well that Umno, as it presently stands, is fractured, and that having elections now would expose the deep divisions that exist at the very top of the party. Elections may, in fact, damage the party beyond repair.

Umno’s constitution provides for elections in three-year cycles. Party elections were last held in 2018, meaning that they were due to be held again last year but were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the government actively moving the country into the endemic phase, Umno ought to be taking active steps to freshen its leadership. Except that no one in leadership wants that to happen.

The reasons are fairly simple.

“Bossku” Najib Razak’s political future hangs in the balance after his recent criminal conviction. Current president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has his own legal battles to contend with, and is not faring too well either. First deputy president Mohamad Hasan, while competent and likeable, appears to lack grassroots support. Apart from those three, there really is nobody else.

Except, of course, the unlikely man of the moment, Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Having led the Umno faction that shared power with current arch enemy Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu, Ismail surprisingly emerged unscathed from the political scrapheap of Perikatan Nasional’s fall from grace to lead Umno back into power.

At the time, Ismail was considered no more than Umno’s puppet – a placeholder for party warlords who were dreaming of somehow overcoming their legal hurdles to return to power amidst fanfare from an adoring public.

Nine months later, it appears that Ismail may not be as easily displaced as many had assumed.

In 2022’s dumbed-down world of Malay politics, small ripples are trumpeted as great achievements. In that scenario, Ismail can surely claim his fair share of successes.

Speaking English from a rostrum in Singapore and standing three Asean leaders away from US President Joe Biden in a photograph just last week, Ismail’s fledgling international exposure is beginning to take shape.

Meanwhile, warm hugs, handshakes and broad smiles from an overly enthusiastic crowd of VVIPs on his triumphant return show a serious attempt to craft a public image for himself at home. (Zahid, Najib and Tok Mat may very well be looking on in envy.)

All this while being acclaimed for overseeing the country’s return to full activity on the business front, never mind that the ringgit is plunging to unknown depths and foreign investment is at its lowest ebbs.

As it stands, Ismail is the only Umno bigwig hogging the news for the right reasons.

That, and the fact that it is he, as head of the administration, who will decide when the next general elections will be held means that Ismail Sabri Yaakob is now in total control of his, Umno’s and the country’s destiny.

Only a fool will deny that he will use the power of incumbency for his own benefit.

Umno’s shackled warlords might as well get used to the fact that they can only watch him do it. - FMT

Ibrahim M Ahmad is an FMT reader.

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