UMNO must put only leaders who are not facing court cases in the new Muhyiddin Yassin cabinet, said political analyst Shamsul Amri Baharuddin.

Prominent party leaders like president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak, despite their influence, should not be nominated as ministers, he said.

Under the circumstances, whereby the new coalition of Bersatu, Barisan Nasional, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak have not received voters’ mandate, influential leaders in Umno need to set a “good example” by not joining the cabinet, the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic said.

“Umno must focus on putting forth clean leaders, no more Najib or Zahid.

“Their cases must be resolved first. Yes, they are influential leaders, but they also know that they are liabilities to Umno,” Shamsul Amri told The Malaysian Insight.

Najib and Zahid are currently facing multiple charges involving corruption, abuse of power, money-laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Najib’s cases involve 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary, while Zahid’s involve a foundation he ran, Yayasan Akalbudi.

Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, is also facing trial for soliciting and receiving bribes over a solar hybrid power project for rural schools in Sarawak.

Umno, with 39 MPs, is now in the new coalition government under Muhyiddin, who was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister on Sunday.

Muhyiddin, Bersatu’s president and a former Umno man, withdrew his party from Pakatan Harapan (PH), causing the fall of the federal government that was elected in 2018.

Muhyiddin’s government and his rise to prime minister came about as a result of intense political manoeuvring last week when Bersatu and sacked PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali moved to carry out a plot to form a new coalition with Umno and PAS.

Shamsul Amri also said he believes Umno now is a different party from the one that lost the 14th general election.

“Umno should be revitalised, especially with PAS,” he said, referring to the muafakat nasional or political cooperation pact that the two former rival parties sealed in September last year.

Priorities for PM

Shamsul Amri said the new prime minister should stabilise his position among component parties in the next two weeks as he will have to negotiate with each of them in the process of forming a government.

“Each party will be presenting its wish-list and he must find a balance between demands and reality.

“When he achieves this, Muhyiddin can choose his cabinet members and continue to build foundations for integration between the parties so that they can be a strong coalition.”

Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki described Umno and PAS as the “saviours” of the political turmoil last week.

“The endless fighting over who should be prime minister caused PH to collapse. They collapsed because of themselves, not Umno.

“We in fact, are the ‘saviours’ who have ensured that the country stays stable,” Asyraf told The Malaysian Insight.

Asyraf said the Umno grassroots must now work at restoring the party’s image for the 15th general election.

Wanita Umno head Noraini Ahmad also said the grassroots machinery can’t be complacent.

“Members must continue with the work they have done in the past. It is not about party or power but the welfare of the people.” – March 3, 2020.