Bung’s bungle and Zahid’s mistake

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

As delegates across the country gather for the Umno general assembly, much talk is expected to focus on the unexpected events which unfolded in Sabah over the past week.

Many will want answers as to what changed to bring about Sabah Umno’s sudden loss of confidence in chief minister Hajiji Noor’s leadership of the state.

Coup mastermind Bung Moktar Radin claimed that the state government – formed in 2020 via an agreement between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) – lost its legitimacy after Hajiji and several others left PN’s component party, Sabah Bersatu. As a result, he said, Hajiji lost his locus standi to lead the government.

Cynics within Umno, however, offer alternative explanations.

Some suggest that Sabah Umno’s sudden and unbridled desire to take control of the state government came as soon as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim granted the state autonomy over infrastructure projects worth up to RM50 million.

Others say the coup was timed to take place just before the Umno general assembly.

According to them, it was designed to improve Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s standing within the party after the beleaguered president failed to introduce meaningful reforms following the party’s poor showing at the polls in November last year.

Whichever it was, Bung bungled, and Umno lost.

Hajiji was instantly able to prove to state governor Juhar Mahiruddin that he retained the support of 43 of 78 other assemblymen, while Bung, despite the intervention of Anwar and Zahid, was unable to convince five of his party’s own assemblymen that he was the better candidate for chief minister.

His last desperate throw of the dice was to call on Hajiji to accept Anwar’s advice to end the crisis by forming a unity government.  It was a proposal filled with irony given his own actions to unseat the government.

Within the space of less than a week, Bung went from being deputy chief minister to coup mastermind to relying on Anwar and Zahid to salvage his place in government.

Unable to turn the tide, he absented himself from Tuesday’s sitting of the state legislative assembly.

At least his absence ensured he did not have to suffer the ignominy of watching as his seat was moved from its prime spot next to the chief minister to an insignificant location in the opposition bloc.

Annihilated at his own game by Hajiji’s slick leadership and decisiveness, Bung can put aside once and for all any hope he had of claiming the chief minister’s post for himself.

He can instead focus on defending himself in court where he has been called to answer charges of corruption levelled at him.

What remains to be seen is how the general assembly will react to Zahid when it convenes.

Still unable to heal a longstanding rift within the party, Zahid would have hoped to have planted Umno’s flag atop Mount Kinabalu by now to signify a heroic conquest made in the name of the party.

That would have proved he has the necessary leadership skills, acumen and mettle to lead Umno into the real battle to reclaim the federal government outright for his party.

That plan has come to nought.

Zahid’s mistake was to underestimate the height of the mountain he was scaling. - FMT

Ibrahim M Ahmad is an FMT reader.

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