Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - It looks like the push to press Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to relinquish his post is gaining steam.
Not only has Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, the graft-tainted Umno president, suddenly chosen to reveal lures from the Opposition to form a new unity government with the PM post going to his party, the bombshell followed hot on the heels of Zahid's shock 'change government' remark dropped rather deliberately in Parliament just a week ago.
"It's not clear if Zahid is just playing to the Umno gallery to tell Anwar the PM post must rotate to Umno next, be it before or after the next general election. Or if it is a signal to Anwar to step down now or the carpet will be pulled right from under his feet soon," an analyst told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
"What the timing of Zahid's twin bombshells show is that Anwar is now rated as being at his weakest - lacking sufficient friends and support due to arrogance and temperamental behavior. Not only has Anwar upset those within his own unity government, with Umno a good example, but he has made himself very unpopular with the public. So now Anwar is deemed to be dispensable," added the analyst.
MAHATHIR'S TWO-YEAR POWER TRANSFER MARK RETURNS TO HAUNT ANWAR
Indeed, the 77-year-old Anwar would need to watch his back, especially now that he has just passed the two-year mark as PM. As he and his loyalists had kept pressuring Mahathir Mohamad to 'hand over' the topmost post in 2020 on the basis of a much-storied 'agreement' the Anwar camp insist had existed, but which Mahathir categorically denied, so too now might karma return to haunt Anwar.
Social media is already abuzz with rumors of a plot 'from inside' to unseat Anwar and replace him with Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, who is popular with the Malays and appears to be an acceptable choice to the DAP, a key party in Anwar's own Pakatan Harapan coalition and which captured the majority of the non-Malay votes in West Malaysia.
ZAHID OFFERED THE PM POST OR DID THEY ASK FOR MOHAMAD HASAN?
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In Zahid's latest speech, he gave no indication that alleged 'PM offer' was to himself. Neither did Zahid mention Mohamad, who is eligible to challenge him for the Umno presidency in 2026, a year before Malaysia must hold its next general election.
Zahid's words as reported by the media were: "There have been offers, saying that they want to replace the current government, and suggesting that BN will be the prime minister. I said to them - no way, don't ever waste your time. We must strengthen this unity government."
The BN referred to by Zahid is the Barisan Nasional coalition led by Umno, which ruled Malaysia for over six decades before massive corruption and excessively racist and racial politicking skewed against the non-Malays brought its downfall in the 2018 election.
"Zahid is a very savvy, even cunning operator. Of course, he won't say the PM post was offered to him to change government. He knows there will be a huge outcry even from within Umno if he jostles for the PM post because of his corruption scandals. But it doesn't mean he doesn't eye the PM post," said the analyst.
"Whether or not, he will pave the way for Mohamad to be Umno's PM will depend on cold, hard negotiations. Under Anwar, he got a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for all 47 of his corruption charges. Who knows, if Mohamad becomes the Umno PM, Zahid might get a full discharge from the government - not to mention, various other goodies and incentives," the analyst added.
PAS IN A HURRY TO GET BACK INTO POWER?
So goes the rather tainted and jaded wheel of fortune in Malaysia's graft-filled political landscape. Not for nothing is the country unfortunately rated as among the world's most corrupt nations, where it remains an uphill battle to get things done without some form of bribery, secret deal or patronage.
Zahid refused to name or shame those who approached but revealed they were members of the Opposition. "In return, they asked for four cabinet posts to be given to them. Why do they feel that way? Because they have tasted blood, they know what it feels like to become ministers," the Umno president had said during a BN convention over the weekend.
Given that Anwar's unity government has a supermajority in the 222-seat federal Parliament, it is more likely than not that those who made the alleged offer to Zahid came from Pas, the Muslim-centric party with the most number of seats, rather than Bersatu, its coalition mate in the PN opposition bloc.
"The giveaway is the four Cabinet posts. That sounds a lot like Pas. If Bersatu is included, then for sure they would ask for more posts," said the analyst.
MAKING UMNO GREAT AGAIN, WHILE BERSATU HANGS ON BY A THREAD
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Nonetheless, both Bersatu, which is led by ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin, and Umno have begun drawing battle lines that are becoming clearer by the day.
A day ago, Umno announced it would reopen its door to Tajuddin Rahman, the former Pasir Salak MP, who was suspended in 2022. Zahid had launched one of the party's most ruthless ever purges, sacking and suspending powerful 'warlords' who challenged him and his decision to align Umno with Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition to form the current unity government, which paved the way for Anwar to finally become PM.
A none too popular figure, Tajuddin is viewed as a 'nasty piece of goods' even by those within Umno, with a boorish tongue and the ability to do political volte-faces at the drop of the 'songkok' (which is Malay for hat).
The revoking of Tajuddin's suspension is seen as a signal to others including Hishammuddin Hussein , a former senior leader and the Sembrong MP as well as former information chief Shahril Hamdan to appeal their freeze.
Some pundits even predict the return of former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Noh Omar, the former entrepreneur development minister. Both men had been sacked for refusing to toe Zahid's line.
As for Bersatu, its president Muhyiddin Yassin finally announced the long-anticipated appointment of Azmin Ali as the party's secretary-general today. Now 60, Azmin is among the better rated politicians in terms of strategy and organizational skills although his betrayal of former coalition Pakatan Harapan in 2020 via the infamous Sheraton Move for the sake of beating Anwar to the PM post will remain his major obstacle to the top rung of power.
"It does look like the various parties are now all trying to make themselves strong and whole again. Bersatu is so talent scarce if it loses Azmin, there is very little hope for it with the likes of Hamzah Zainuddin holding very little attraction for voters," said the analyst, referring to Hamzah, the hardline newly-appointed Bersatu deputy president.
"As for Zahid, if he want to make Umno great again, then he has to hand out the olive branches now. He is already in a strong position and those he suspended and sacked won't forget so soon how cold it is out in the political wilderness. Even if Zahid still feels insecure, if Mohamad Hasan topples him as the next Umno president, chances are Mohamad Hasan will do this to bring a sense of reuniting the party and this will give Umno a new oomph going into the 2027 election," the analyst added.
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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