UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s affidavit confirming the existence of a royal order for Najib Razak to serve house arrest is aimed at strengthening party support, analysts said.

They said the move would quash talk that the party president had forgotten his promise to free Najib from jail. It would also allay rumours that Zahid was against Najib, who still wields considerable influence in the party.

“Zahid’s affidavit is clear proof of his gratitude, support, friendship, and commitment to Najib,” said associate professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi at the Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections.

“This affidavit further proves that the effort was done tactically, wisely, and strategically, and that it was revealed at the right time.

“The actions of the Umno president are an eye-opener to party members who were prejudiced against him and had claimed that Zahid had not supported Najib or made any efforts to get the former prime minister out of prison,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The deputy prime minister has filed an affidavit in support of Najib’s legal application to demand the execution of a royal order granted to him in January to serve the remainder of his jail sentence at home.

He said the order was issued by the king on January 29.

Hours after Zahid’s affidavit became public, minister and Umno leader Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz issued a statement saying that he would be filing an affidavit to “correct certain factual errors” in the Umno president’s.

Awang said Zahid’s affidavit would give the Umno president a great boost as the leader of the largest Malay party in Malaysia.

“Zahid’s efforts are seen to be carefully planned to enlighten and unite Umno.

“There were some who said Zahid did not support the release of Najib. However, this affidavit has proven otherwise. This could calm matters within Umno and unify the party.”

Ilham Centre executive director Hisomudin Bakar said the situation looks good for both Zahid and Umno.

“The affidavit from Zahid shows the party leader is looking after the welfare of Najib. Despite being in the unity government, Zahid is continuing his fight to get Najib released.

“That was his promise to Najib’s family at the 2023 Umno general assembly,” he said.

Umno-PH conflict?

Hisomudin said Zahid’s affidavit could trigger friction in the unity government if it is not deftly handled.

“When claims of an additional royal order (for Najib’s house arrest) were first made by Najib’s camp, Home Minister Saifuddin (Nasution) said he had heard of no such thing.

“If this is not resolved, the issue can raise the question of who is lying to the people and whether this could potentially disrupt the Umno-Pakatan Harapan relationship at the government level,” he said.

“If the matter is not well managed, it could have bad implications for PH in the next general election.

“This could also lead to a crack in the relationship between PH and BN and indirectly impact the unity government,” he said.

On February 2, the Pardons Board halved Najib’s 12-year jail sentence over the RM42 million SRC International corruption case. This will see the former leader walk free on August 23, 2028. The board also reduced Najib’s RM210 million fine to RM50 million.

The board said it made the decision after a meeting on January 29. It did not give a reason for approving Najib’s request for a pardon.

The pardon was granted a day before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah stepped down. – April 20, 2024.