UMNO rebels who tried to pin down Ahmad Zahid Hamidi by urging the party’s top two posts be contested may face a gloomy future with the failure of their plan, analysts said.

They said dissenters such as Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin and Johari Ghani may face stern action for trying to shake up the current Umno leadership.

This follows Umno’s decision on Saturday to approve a motion not to hold contests for the top two posts, which cements Zahid’s position as the party president for another term, and most probably until the next general election.

Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar said party rebels may find it difficult to gain influence in politics for at least several years.

On the other hand, he stressed that Zahid may now have some breathing space and will allow him to rejuvenate Umno after losing badly in the November general election.

“Party rebels may now have no option. They surely can expect disciplinary action to be taken against them,” said Hisomuddin.

“They will find it hard to get involved in politics.

“Zahid can position himself better in Umno. He must now steer Umno back because it is now part of the government and he himself is the deputy prime minister.

“He needs to look for a new dynamic and has to explore new possibilities.”

During a briefing before the party’s general assembly, Zahid had named several leaders who had signed statutory declarations supporting Perikatan Nasional (PN) after the general election. One name that was mentioned was Hishammuddin’s.

Zahid also alluded that party action would follow over their acts.

Likewise, Zahid had also said the disciplinary board would be looking into Khairy’s case for alleging “dirty tactics” had been used at the assembly to ensure there is no contest for the top two posts.

‘Outdated party’

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Umno may not gain much attention in the future if the party continues to suppress dissenting voices.

He believed Zahid would have won the polls if a contest had been allowed.

“It may give Zahid some room to position himself and to lift Umno back again, but in the long run, this is not good for the party. The youth and those educated will stay away from Umno,” he said.

“The way Umno decided not to contest the top two posts was undemocratic. By only using voice vote instead of ballot vote.

“The youth will see Umno as an outdated party filled with the old guard.

“Umno, especially the leaders, should have realised that from 2008, they have lost the support.

“Umno needs to be looked at as a reliable party. They can’t continue this patronage system.”

The same point of view was shared by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who said youth will lose trust in Umno now that it has been decided that there will be no contest for the party’s two top posts.

The former prime minister said the youth want a party that gives equal opportunities to all.

“Young people are idealistic, they talk about rights, democracy and so on. Of course, they can see that what we are doing goes against all that.”

Explore new routes

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Mazlan Ali, however, said Zahid will move on from Umno’s internal polemics and explore new possibilities with Pakatan Harapan (PH).

He said while dissenters may be penalised, none of them would be sacked.

“Their membership may be suspended because if they are expelled, they would be free and may trigger a by-election,” he said.

“I think Zahid will now focus on how to revive Umno with PH as a new partner.

“If you listen to the Umno president’s speech and the deputy president’s speech, it is clear that PH is a better option than PN.

“I think Umno delegates too understood the circumstances. Umno can still survive with PH as a partner but would not if they chose PN.

“There is logic there plus, Umno had opened the door for PN, but PN demanded many terms, which were different from PH.” – January 17, 2023.