BOMBSHELL – ZAHID TO RESIGN? OF COURSE, HE WON’T! – ‘WOUNDED TIGER’ OR NOT, BETS ARE ON ‘KING’ ZAHID WILL FIND A WAY OUT – IF HE CAN FIND A WAY IN FOR UMNO INTO PAKATAN’S UNITY GOVT, SACK THE LIKES OF ANNUAR MUSA, SHAHIDAN KASSIM, NOH OMAR & GENG KHAIRY – WHAT’S A FEW AMBITIOUS WARLORDS INCLUDING JOHARI, IDRIS & GENG HISHAM PLAYING ‘NOW-YOU-SEE NOW-YOU-DON’T SANDIWARA’ TO GRAB HIS PLACE – EVEN AS UMNO HOTHEADS START TO COOL DOWN & COME TO THEIR SENSES – ‘INSTEAD, WE SHOULD HELP THE PM TURN THINGS AROUND & ENSURE THAT UMNO DOES NOT MOVE TO THE EXTREME RIGHT’

Zahid to stay on amid mounting pressure

DR AKMAL Salleh is going through his most challenging moment since becoming Umno Youth leader.

The Youth wing he leads is restless and many in the rank-and-file are troubled and upset after Umno’s disastrous election outcome. They want answers on how the party intends to repair itself and the way forward.

Dr Akmal had little choice but to convene what he called a “feedback session” on Thursday night for the wing to air their grievances and opinions.

There were attempts by those aligned to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to stop the gathering. When that failed, Dr Akmal became the target of cyberbullying and WhatsApp blasts that portrayed him as aligned to leaders whom Zahid had sacked or suspended.

Dr Akmal, who is also Merlimau assemblyman, was not intimidated even though he knew that Ahmad Zahid is a wounded tiger and that is a dangerous creature.

The Youth gathering proceeded with a full house, attended by the divisional Youth leaders who came from as far north as Perlis and from across the sea in Sabah.

Ahmad Zahid had tried to pre-empt the Youth gathering by convening an emergency political bureau meeting a night earlier.

The powerful political bureau comprises the very top leadership as well as state Umno chairmen and it was clear to them that their president has no intention of resigning.

Ahmad Zahid also referred to what vice-president and Titiwangsa MP Datuk Seri Johari Ghani told reporters a few days earlier – that the party should take collective responsibility and move forward to strengthen Umno.

Johari has emerged as a credible figure in Umno – his opinion carries weight and his views on the economy has the attention of no less than the Prime Minister.

At the Umno headquarters on election night, quite a few people overheard Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim say to Johari: “Jo, we need to sit down and talk.”

The political bureau has thrown its support behind Ahmad Zahid after he said that he wants to strengthen and improve the party.

There were a few at the political bureau meeting who opposed the Umno Youth gathering but Dr Akmal, who also sits on the political bureau, stood his ground.

Ahmad Zahid is under siege and has yet to make a comprehensive statement about the election outcome. But he is keeping tabs of the deluge of commentary in Umno chat groups and he is aware of the calls for him to resign.

“He is digesting the results, he knows what people are saying. Knowing him, I don’t see him resigning,” said former Kapar division chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah.

Datuk Nasaruddin M. Zin, the former Klang division chief, said there have been several wake-up calls for Umno of which the most urgent was in the last general election.

“Yet, there was no proper post-mortem. We were busy with our party elections, then it was Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji. As the captain, Zahid should not pass the responsibility when all instructions come from the top,” said Nasaruddin.

Ahmad Zahid should have seized the narrative ahead of the Umno Youth feedback session.

Frustration, anger and cynicism filled the air at the gathering. At the same time, there was heartfelt concern that the party must reform in order to survive.

The Youth wing believes the onus is on them to speak up on the future of Umno.

As Dr Akmal said in his opening address: “We are here because we love the party and want it to be better. Feedback is crucial to correct our mistakes and move forward.”

Those who spoke did not hold back even though supreme council members Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Datuk Seri Rahman Dahlan were among the invited leaders.

The overwhelming opinion is that their president is the primary problem among Malays, whether inside or outside of Umno.

“How are we to sell the party to Malay voters when the main product is damaged?” said one speaker.

Some said it was painful to see Umno mocked and insulted on social media. Another speaker asked whether the party still had the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Malays.

The code word for Ahmad Zahid among the Umno Youth members is apparently “pemimpin 47 kes” (leader with 47 court charges).

“There was a lot of emotion, people spoke from their hearts because they want Umno to be strong again but everything was done in a civil way,” said an Umno Youth official.

However, those who went overboard in defending Ahmad Zahid were greeted with jeers.

The gathering concluded by stating that a leadership transition plan be worked out within the next one year. They also stressed that there must be a contest for the party’s No 1 and No 2 posts to restore trust in the party.

Selayang Umno division chief Datuk Hasnal Rizua Merican said a leadership change may not necessarily be the solution. He said Umno continued to decline even though Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak took responsibility after the 2008 and 2018 general elections.

“Instead, we should help the PM turn things around and ensure that Umno does not move to the extreme right,” said Hasnal.

Ahmad Zahid is still feared in Umno and the party’s highest decision-making body, the supreme council, will not move against him because it is stacked with people aligned to him.

However, his survival actually rests in the hands of the Prime Minister. Both men need each other – one to stay in power, the other seeking a soft landing for his multiple corruption charges.

A Pakatan Harapan insider said Anwar has a “bond” with Ahmad Zahid. The two men go back a long way and Ahmad Zahid, when he was Home Minister, showed immense consideration to Anwar during his time in prison.

“The bond is still tight,” said the insider.

Time is on Anwar’s side, he intends to stand by Ahmad Zahid and he will do what it takes to fix the economy over the next four years.

ANN

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