THE promotion of Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the deputy prime minister will weaken Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s influence in the party, said analysts.

They said that party leaders would now slowly move towards Ismail, who is also Umno vice-president, and this buys time for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in facing Zahid’s onslaught.

They also told The Malaysian Insight that Muhyiddin, by appointing Ismail as the deputy, had made a strategic move to weaken the influence of anti-Perikatan Nasional figures in Umno. 

This was evident when most Umno MPs refused to heed Zahid’s move to retract support for Muhyiddin as the prime minister.

However, they also warned that Zahid was not totally out of the scene and could still hit back. 

“Now the attention will turn to Ismail because as the deputy prime minister, he has access to almost everything. Bit by bit Umno leaders will move closer to Ismail. Even those who are now in Zahid’s camp,” said Universiti Utara Malaysia academic Prof Dr Ahmad Marthada Mohamed. 

“Although, it is still not the end for Zahid, things are now worse for him. Muhyiddin has weakened the influence of people like Zahid, Najib Razak and Ahmad Maslan in Umno,” he said. 

Martadha added that without any influence, it was impossible for Zahid to gather strength in Umno. 

“He has power as president but he does not have the influence. Therefore he has nothing to offer. In politics, those with influence have added advantage. 

“If you have power but without influence, there is no use,” he added. 

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement announced the appointment of Ismail as Muhyiddin’s deputy. 

Also promoted was Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, another senior Umno leader but without any position in the party now, as senior minister. 

Until Ismail’s appointment, there has been no deputy prime minister in Muhyiddin’s cabinet since PN took over Putrajaya in March last year. 

Analysts said Muhyiddin’s decision to appoint Ismail was an attempt to divide the party.

Just hours after the two appointments, Zahid chaired an Umno Supreme Council meeting, which ran for more than four hours, after which he announced that the party had decided to withdraw support for Muhyiddin. 

He said the party wanted an interim prime minister appointed to oversee the management of Covid-19 pandemic, after which a general election must be held. 

However his announcement was left without any bite when none of Umno MPs, including those in the cabinet, announced they were withdrawing the support for Muhyiddin. 

Led by Ismail, they had said that they would want to continue the work being done by the Muhyiddin government on overcoming the health and economic crises.

Zahid needs a new coalition 

Prof James Chin of University of Tasmania meanwhile said there was still a way out for Zahid, but only if he can convince Umno members that he can put together a coalition to replace PN. 

He added Zahid can also regain Ismail’s loyalty by offering him to become the interim prime minister in place of Muhyiddin. 

“During the press conference (after the Supreme Council meeting), Zahid made it clear he expects all Umno members serving in government to resign, hence causing the collapse of the government. But this is easier said than done. 

“In theory there is nothing Zahid can do to enforce this. Cabinet and key government positions are appointed directly by the prime minister. 

“Hence, even if Zahid sacks the recalcitrant Umno ministers from the party, they can still serve in the cabinet. Even worse, if Umno sacks them, there is every reason for these lawmakers to simply join Bersatu. This strengthens the latter’s hand,” said Chin. 

He said the only way Zahid can enforce Umno’s exit from government was by putting together a coalition to replace PN. 

“The unspoken target of course is to return Umno to the seat of power in the office of the prime minister.” 

Chin said that if Zahid can deliver this, even his current detractors in the party can’t stand in his way. 

“Even then, loyalty sometimes favours party lines when personal ambition lines up with circumstances. For example, there is no reason why Ismail should stay loyal to Muhyiddin if Zahid can offer him the post of interim prime minister if Umno takes over,” he said. 

Senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs Dr Oh Ei Sun however opined that the PN government would not be able to last much longer. 

He added that despite resistance from several Umno leaders who favoured ties with Bersatu and Muhyiddin, the Bagan Datuk MP still has support from the Supreme Council and most of the divisions and grassroots. 

“It’s a matter of time for this government’s downfall. If those cluster of MPs still try to hang on to their cabinet positions by supporting Muhyiddin, they do so at the peril of their long-term political careers as this government has rapidly become an unpopular one,” said Oh. – July 12, 2021.