Not so quiet 'civil war' against Zahid resumes in Umno, Anwar vulnerable after 'giant-slaying' pol-sec comments

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - As expected, unusual and extraordinary comments by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's handpicked political secretary have sparked a chain of angry reactions, mainly from the Umno party - a lynchpin ally in his unity government.

As warned by PoliticsNow Malaysia in an article posted three days ago on Oct 14 titled 'Undercurrents in 'Anwar-land'? Embarrassing revelation about Zahid by Anwar's pol-sec raises eyebrows', mixed and conflicting reactions have flared, especially in Umno, over Shamsul Iskandar Akin's bombshell revelation that Anwar had personally phoned him in the wee hours of the morning to let Zahid Hamidi, the Umno president, win the Bagan Datuk election in 2022.

According to Shamsul, who believed he had won the seat, Anwar had ordered him not to seek a recount of votes because Anwar had allegedly already received a 'letter to form the government' from Zahid.

The revelation not only drew immediate concerns of election fraud, unethical conduct, abuse of power and process but also breathed fire into the 'civil war' that is never far from the surface in a fragmented and factionalized Umno, once the country's biggest and most powerful party.

While Zahid has not officially commented, his daughter has lashed out at Shamsul, calling the diminutive pol-sec "stupid" and ticked him off for "hallucination" - even as foes and rivals within Umno mocked her father and used his weakness and dependence on Anwar as further 'proof' to party grassroots that he should be removed as Umno's leader.

That Zahid's position is still precarious is evident by how his staunchest ally, the faction led by preceding Umno president Najib Razak, also rushed to attack Shamsul.

INTERNAL PKR FIGHT FOR LARGESSE?

Others in the political scene including former law minister Zaid Ibrahim mocked Anwar for not looking after his men well, suggesting that the embattled prime minister should have better 'rewarded' Shamsul for his election sacrifice than with just a mere political secretary post. After all Shamsul was formerly a deputy minister in the Mahathir Mohamad cabinet of 2018.

 "I would like to know who in PKR would defend Shamsul to support his right to reveal this, or will they condemn him?" Zaid said in his podcast published on X (https://x.com/zaidibrahim/status/1846172956604748089) .

"The prime minister instructed a candidate from his own party not to proceed with the recount. It could have led to his party candidate's victory, but instead he stopped it. This is a serious revelation."

Zaid also drew comparison with Anwar's former pol-sec Farhash Salvador, on whom Anwar had apparently heaped bountiful 'largesse' compared to Shamsul's 'humble' political secretary post. 

According to news portal Malaysia Now, just weeks after Anwar became PM, Farhash was appointed chairman of tycoon Vincent Tan's 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings and was also seen acquiring major stakes in several companies.

POLICE REPORT? BUT WHY NOT ...

Meanwhile, the latest Umno leader to rail at Shamsul is Puad Zarkashi, who is also a member of the  party's supreme council or decision-making body. Puad questioned the timing of Shamsul's expose.

"What’s the motive behind bringing up this nonsensical story now? It’s better to lodge a police report, Puad Zarkashi had said in a Facebook post

According to Puad, it was no skin off Umno's nose as the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat was 'undeniably' the party’s'. However, Anwar's image would be tainted, Puad added.

Nonetheless, in Malaysia's rough-and-tumble elections, such dubious conduct appears to be quite the norm to many politicians.

The comments given to PoliticsNow Malaysia from some of those aligned to Anwar include:

"Why lodge police report? There is no criminal action. I think police reports by politicians against politicians are plain silly."

"Shamsul is speaking the truth, nothing wrong. As for Anwar, not calling for recount is legally allowed. In fact, anyone can call Shamsul and ask him to do that. I myself did this in 2008 to some PKR candidates."

Indeed lodging a police report appears to be what the Anwar camp wishes to avoid. But it is the first step the Opposition would need to make if they wish to complain to the Election Court or petition for a re-contest. Obviously, the chances of such an outcome are remote, say cynics as they point to the ham-fisted control wielded by Anwar's government over the enforcement authorities. 

However, the embarrassment to both Anwar and Zahid would be pretty meaty political capital. It is perhaps also the right thing to do. Some in civil society say it is good to take the moral high ground and raise the issue as well as to create voter awareness that there are those who after promising to reform the country now need to be reformed themselves.

SECRET PACT - HOW FAIR TO UMNO GRASSROOTS, VOTERS?

Bagan Datuk, a rural area in Perak state, is a long-standing Umno bastion held by Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, for years. During the 2022 general election, it was the scene of a four-cornered fight and among the most-watched contests with expectations already skewed towards the corruption-tainted and unpopular Zahid losing.

Earlier this week, Shamsul revealed that he was persuaded by a 2.30am phone call from Anwar not to proceed to ask for a recount. Anwar had told him that Barisan Nasional, the coalition spearheaded by Umno, had agreed to join forces with their Pakatan Harapan pact to form a unity government.

"At the time, I said we have to fight. We have to make sure we count properly. There were almost 800 spoilt votes. I mean, how could it be? I lost by 348 votes, so we wanted to continue and fight," Shamsul had told a pro-government podcast.

"But he called and said that 'I am impressed with your hard work in Bagan Datuk' and so on. But Sam, we want to form a government. Zahid has already issued a letter to form a government."

Shamsul was one of the three challengers to Zahid, the incumbent MP for Bagan Datuk. Shamsul had lost by only 348 votes, with 800 spoilt votes, in the first count.

The revelations from Shamsul lend strength to the suspicion that Anwar and Zahid had made a secret pact long before the 15th general election. 

Zahid's decision to align with Anwar was and still is very unpopular with most Umno members who dislike both Anwar as well the Chinese-dominated DAP party that underpins the Pakatan Harapan, which is the main coalition in the current unity government.

Most Umno members including senior leaders such as ex-premier Ismail Sabri and former minister Hishammuddin Hussein even fought Zahid to ally Umno with the PN coalition, which comprises the Bersatu party led by another ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin and Pas, which is the biggest and most powerful Malay-Muslim party in the country.   

Many have speculated that Zahid's pact with Pakatan was not only to ensure Anwar achieved his PM dream but at the same time allowed Zahid to 'buy' his freedom from a barrage of serious corruption charges as part of a sordid exchange. 

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/