Why Johor, N9 master tactician Zahid is fearless of PH avenging UMNO’s treachery with his “47 charges”

 

IN the aftermath of the back-to-back Johor and Negeri Sembilan (N9) state election victories, some netizens have been left impressed by UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi commanding the charge to topple the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) key ally at the Federal level.

Victories at both polls aside, tongues are wagging isn’t the BN chairman playing with fire given the Sword of Domiciles is still hanging above his head by virtue of his unsettled 47 charges encompassing criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering connected to the Yayasan Akalbudi foundation.

For the record, the Deputy Prime Minister is currently awaiting a High Court decision on his application for a full acquittal.

This follows the Malaysian Bar being granted leave by the Court of Appeal in May 2026 to launch a judicial review challenging the Attorney-General’s (AG) decision to drop the charges, thus complicating the path to a final resolution.

Recall that the High Court had on Sept 4, 2023 granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) after the prosecution chose to discontinue the proceedings despite having earlier proven a prima facie case following representations by the defence.

Doesn’t deserve credit

Fast forward to the present, it has been pointed out that whether to appease the UMNO grassroots or to save his  political career/own skin, Zahid “is one of the slyest politicians around”.

“We need to study his way of  politics,” penned Threader @hafiz.zidddd in a recent post. “Now there’s nobody going to cry over his pending 47 charges outcome. Everyone is currently sleeping soundly with him now . Whether it’s PH or PN, he has tapau all (figuratively, figured them out).”

The insinuation by @hafiz.zidddd is such that even if PMX resorts to resurrect the 47 charges against his deemed disciple, should the BN-Perikatan Nasional (BN-PN) pact which hinges on the Muslim ummah topple PH come the 16th General Election (GE16), Zahid will likely walk out a free man once again.

Another Threader @abamjayen who claimed to have “really disliked Zahid who looked like a fool in the past” contended that he started to respect the Rural and Regional Development Minister after the Johor and N9 state polls.

“In such a cool manner, he has fooled PH and especially PMX … Such is the ingenious level of this veteran politician … Full of Respect.   “

Brushing aside prospect of a resurrection of the 47 charges to teach the UMNO supremo a lesson for his betrayal to his self-proclaimed “cikgu” and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, actor Yusuf Bahrin pointed to Zahid’s “personal persona” which exudes calmness and patience.

“No doubt he’s being slandered, cursed and insulted day in, day out yet he never responds in a bad way and that’s why Allah destined him to be a leader,” opined the star in local movies Telekinesis (2024). The Lord Musang King (2023) and Seratus (2022).

“Very professional and great character as a leader. His kindness and deeds are for Allah SWT and whoever knows, knows. You will see one day, Insya-Allah ”

Whether Zahid is indeed a cunning master tactician or otherwise, not everyone in the UMNO grassroots circle thinks that he deserves such high tribute.

“Please remove people with court cases from leadership, we don’t want people like this to keep repeating their abuse of power when they secure power,” mocked one commenter.

“It’s better to appoint young people with clean records or those who don’t indulge in embezzling people’s money. Humans tend to be shameless when they rise to power. In Japan, you’ve to step down once you’re tainted with any form of corruption.”

Interestingly, many agreed that Zahid should not be credited for both BN victories for UMNO grassroots had voted for Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafoz Ghazi who has performed marvellously in his task while “the conflict of customs” contributed hugely to BN having emerged triumphant in N9. –  Focus Malaysia