Battle lines drawn against 10 BN MPs who supported Muhyiddin, says analyst

 

Naming the 10 BN MPs was a clever move on the part of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, says analyst James Chin. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s decision to reveal the 10 Barisan Nasional MPs who signed statutory declarations (SDs) in support of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister after GE15 has put the group in a tight spot, says an analyst.

In a special briefing to the political bureaus of the party’s divisions before the start of Umno’s general assembly last night, Zahid, who is also the BN chairman, identified the 10 MPs who had gone behind the coalition’s back by signing SDs in support of Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin after GE15 resulted in a hung Parliament.

James Chin, a professor of Asian studies at University of Tasmania, said Zahid has effectively dismissed speculation that he would use the general assembly to close party ranks and put up a show of unity by “exposing all the names of his political enemies out in the open”.

With Zahid’s position at stake at the party elections which have to be held by May 19, he could not have picked a better time to draw out the battle lines, Chin told FMT.

James Chin.

“Politically, it’s a very clever move on his part. We already knew there was a split in BN before the government was formed, but we didn’t have details of the names,” he said.

“Now, he has used this announcement to get them to make a public stand on whether they still believe that the move to support Anwar (Ibrahim) was a mistake or not.

“The trick is not where they stand, but if they have the momentum to challenge him. The general assembly is a preparation for the party elections, and if the delegates attack him, he will know that something’s cooking.”

Zahid was criticised after BN’s dismal result in GE15 and faced calls to resign after the once-dominant coalition won only 30 seats – 26 of them from Umno. By comparison, the two other major coalitions, PN and Pakatan Harapan, claimed 74 and 82 seats, respectively.

On the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, BN later agreed to form the current government with former rivals PH and East Malaysian coalitions, a move which was initially met with resistance by certain sections from within BN.

After Zahid’s special briefing yesterday, Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zakarshi took to Facebook to announce that Zahid had promised the delegates he would carry out a “total clean-up” of the party to rid it of elements that could hinder its “new direction”.

Last night, Puad told FMT Zahid told the briefing that six of the MPs were from Umno – Hishammuddin Hussein (Sembrong), Hasni Mohammad (Simpang Renggam), Jalaluddin Alias (Jelebu), Isam Isa (Tampin), Adnan Abu Hassan (Kuala Pilah) and Abdul Rahman Mohamad (Lipis).

MCA’s Wee Ka Siong (Ayer Hitam) and Wee Jeck Seng (Tanjung Piai), MIC’s M Saravanan (Tapah) and PBRS’ Arthur Joseph Kurup (Pensiangan) made up the other four MPs.

Jeniri Amir.

Commenting on the expose, Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir described it as “drastic action” which Zahid had to take to cleanse Umno. He said it was crucial that Zahid send a “very strong message” to the estimated 3,000 delegates.

“This is the only way forward to ensure that the party is truly clean from traitors, those who are not loyal, and those who don’t adhere to party decisions,” he told FMT.

“Zahid had to expose these people so the members know they are the ones who could endanger the party and threaten his position.”

Moving forward, Jeniri said Zahid should use the general assembly as an opportunity to clearly communicate to the delegates Umno’s decision to forge an alliance with PH.

“This is the best platform for him to explain to the grassroots. If he doesn’t, there will be a lot of discussions based on things that are not facts,” he said. - FMT