THE loss of Najib Razak as Umno’s chief campaigner will no doubt be felt by the party at the upcoming general election, analysts said, as the party has not been able to replace Najib’s influence and social media presence.

Hisommudin Bakar, executive director of Ilham Centre, said Najib contributed to 11% of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) strength, based on a survey conducted by the research body.

“With the absence of such a percentage, Umno leaders are still looking for factors that can cover the deficiency,” Hisommudin told The Malaysian Insight.

“This is a fact that Umno needs to accept. They need to be prepared with contingency plans in case their big figures are sentenced.

“Umno now needs to consider an unusual strategy to quickly rise after Najib’s imprisonment, without disrupting the pace and momentum of their victories at the Johor and Malacca elections.”

Besides Najib, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is also facing trial for corruption, along with Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, ex-Felda chairman Mohd Isa Samad, and former Felda chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad.

Umno’s challenge now is in finding someone with Najib’s pull to rally its voters, Hisommudin said.

“There is no denying that Najib was the icon of Umno’s revival after BN lost control of Putrajaya. He reworked the strength of Umno and BN in his own way.

“After the Federal Court sentenced Najib to jail, Umno was dealt with a heavy blow because there is no replacement for the ‘Najib factor’.”

Last month, the Federal Court in an unanimous decision quashed Najib’s appeal and upheld his sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

The apex court ordered him to begin his 12-year jail sentence immediately.

The former prime minister was also sentenced to a RM210 million fine in default five years in prison.

The five-person apex court bench was chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The other bench members were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and senior judges P. Nallini, Mary Lim Thiam Suan, and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

On July 28, 2020, then High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, sentenced Najib to 10 years in prison on each of the three counts of criminal breach of trust and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years in prison and a RM210 million fine, in default five years in prison, for abuse of power.

Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision and dismissed Najib’s appeal to set aside his conviction and sentence.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said Umno will find it hard to recreate Najib’s “rempit” personality.

“Surprisingly, his messages were relatable to the ordinary working-class Malay masses.

“No one in Umno could match his appeal to this segment of the population.

“For this reason alone, his absence may hurt the ability of Umno to garner quite a big chunk of Malay support,” he said.

Najib imprisonment potential campaign material

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said Umno could use Najib’s incarceration as a means to win votes.

“They will use Najib’s ‘selective prosecution’ to make the Malay ground angry,” Chin said.

“They have been saying that Najib is a victim of the system, but they also argue that Najib is not guilty and was manipulated by Low Taek Jho (Jho Low).

“Of course, the unspoken part is that Jho Low is a Chinese person. Race and religion – you cannot remove from the equation.”

While Najib’s absence is a setback for Umno, Chin said the party still has a strong election machinery.

“What will happen is that the core Umno supporters will come out to vote regardless of Najib being there,” Chin said.

“Obviously, Najib was a very good campaigner – the ‘Bossku’ thing was a populist movement – he created it out of nothing.

“Umno has a very strong election machinist, it’s just that it has lost a key campaigner, which will be a setback.” – September 15, 2022.