THE announcement by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the party is withdrawing its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should not be taken seriously, said academics.

James Chin, director of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, said Zahid was not in the position to be speaking for the party as they are deeply divided over their support for Muhyiddin.

“Zahid has lost (Supreme Council members’) support,” he said when asked if the withdrawal of support for Muhyiddin could trigger a collapse of the government and a call for a snap election.

Chin, however, said it was still too early to tell if Muhyiddin would survive the latest political upheaval.

“It’s too early to suggest which way the wind is blowing. Things are still moving rapidly in Kuala Lumpur,” he added.

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Jayum Jawan agreed with Chin’s assessment.

He said if Zahid was still powerful in his party, there would have been a flurry of resignations of Umno MPs in the federal cabinet and assemblymen appointed to the various positions in state governments.

“The announcement of the pull-out was not followed by resignations of Umno people from the government.

“Now, it remains a mere announcement.”

Jawan said if all the Umno appointees had heeded their president’s announcement, many state governments that are led by Perikatan Nasional (PN) component parties would also have collapsed.

Sarawak PKR said Zahid’s announcement would mean Muhyiddin would have to tender his resignation as he had lost the support of Umno’s 38 MPs.

“Technically, the announcement would have meant that the Umno MPs have also withdrawn their support for Muhyiddin,” Sarawak PKR information chief Abun Sui Anyit said.

In light of the political development, Anyit said the Sarawak ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), should similarly withdraw their support for the “failed PN federal government and Muhyiddin immediately”.

He, however, admitted he does not believe the Agong would consent to Muhyiddin stepping down, the dissolution of Parliament and a fresh general election taking place when the country was still battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the run-up to the reopening of Parliament on July 26, Chin said he expects “a lot of horse trading” to take place.

“Both sides are trying to count their numbers. That’s quite clear.”

Chin attributed the Umno split to the political manoeuvrings of Muhyiddin by pitting the faction led by Zahid and former prime minister Najib Razak who opposed him, against another faction led by Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Hishamuddin Hussein, both of which supported him.

He also said the prime minister could be expected to make further concessions to Umno to keep the split.

“Muhyiddin is trying very hard to make sure Umno is split down the middle because if Umno is united, and being the largest party in the ruling coalition, it could pull him down anytime.

“By splitting Umno, it’s a lot harder for the party to pull him down.”

Earlier today, Attorney-General Idrus Harun said Muhyiddin remains the prime minister by law until and unless another MP can prove that he or she has majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.

“As of now the government does not have any clear evidence to show that the prime minister has lost the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat members.

“Based on the Article 43(2)(1) of the federal constitution, the lawmaker who has the confidence of the majority of Dewan Rakyat members is determined by the lawmakers themselves and not through a statement of any political party or leader of any political party,” he said. – July 8, 2021.