SOME 20 years ago, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was staring at political oblivion.

Then the Umno Youth chief, he was one of Anwar Ibrahim’s key operatives and suffered greatly in the fallout from the sacking and jailing of his mentor by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He was sacked from Umno, spent a short time in detention and saw his once bright political prospects disappear in a fortnight in mid-1998. He knows desolation and hopelessness. If not for the intervention of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after a few years in political wilderness, Zahid would have been long forgotten.

Today, he is once again surrounded by despair. The only difference is that it is his job to play the role of cheerleader and convince the 54 Umno MPs who won in GE14 that the party will rise from the ashes of defeat and that their political fortunes will be reversed in GE15.

He has to sell them hope because he knows that Dr Mahathir and the new Pakatan Harapan government is intent on getting them to cross over. In encouraging an exodus, Dr Mahathir will not only shore up his support base in the new government but could cause permanent damage to Umno.

Zahid started his sales pitch today when he met the Umno MPs who won on May 9. Among those who attended included Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin and Nazri Aziz.

There was regret that the positive reports of the security agencies in the run-up to the polls didn’t capture one startling fact – that a sizeable chunk of Umno members and traditional supporters did not cast their votes for party candidates.

There was shock at the complete reversal of political fortunes – after decades of lording over Malaysia, Umno MPs now have to occupy the seats reserved for the opposition in Parliament.

There was also some defiance among those who attended today’s gathering – they believe that it is only a matter of time before the PH government implodes, with a possible scenario of Anwar and his PKR lawmakers teaming up with Umno.

At the moment and in the foreseeable future, there seems little chance of the PH government disintegrating but Zahid and the party’s top leaders have to sell their MPs hope of a better tomorrow, possibly sooner than the next general election in five years.

The grass is not always greener on the other side was the reminder to Umno MPs who were thinking about jumping ship.

The consensus reached at the end of today’s meeting – the first since Najib Razak stepped down as Umno president yesterday – was that Umno should spend some time regrouping.

For now, the Umno winners appear willing to stay and rebuild the party.

But what is certain is that this sense of confidence and solidarity will be tested severely in weeks and months to come when income streams dry up and the reality of being in opposition sets in.

Then, Zahid’s soothing words and outline of a brighter future may not be enough to prevent the cross overs. – May 13, 2018.