With Umno’s election rout, analysts say writing on the wall for Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — Umno’s heavy defeats in the six state elections last weekend made it untenable for Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to remain as party president, according to political analysts.

Saying that Zahid should have resigned the position following his party’s disastrous performance in the 15th general election, they argued that the Umno president would have even less justification to cling on to power now.

In the Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Penang, and Terengganu elections on Saturday, Umno was among the worst performers, losing in dozens of constituencies to the Perikatan Nasional parties of PAS and Bersatu.

Although the unity alliance of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) were able to defend Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Selangor from PN, it could not stop the rival coalition from gaining significant ground in the latter two states.

“A leader must know when he should leave when he failed to do what he needs to do. It is the only honourable thing for Zahid to step down as he had failed miserably to resurrect Umno,” Universiti Putra Malaysia political science professor Datuk Jayum Jawan said.

“He took over when Umno was down. I think Umno people knew that and they have given him ample chances to do his thing to bring back the old glory to Umno. But with the recent bad performance in six state elections, he has no excuse for staying on. Umno needs a new captain to have a chance to try and reclaim its former glory.”

Jayum said it has become apparent that Zahid did not have the vision or charisma needed to turn Umno around or — more importantly — win the Malay community back to the party that had once been the community’s champion.

Granting that the situation was not wholly Zahid’s fault as he was also a product of the party’s chronic decline, Jayum said this was most recently demonstrated when Umno delegates agreed that Zahid’s presidency could not be challenged at the last party election.

“The rise of a mediocre captain must be shouldered by many warlords who helped establish and enforce a no-contest for the two top posts, thereby giving Zahid a free ride to the top.

“The only right thing for Umno members is to ask for an extraordinary general assembly to elect a new leader to save Umno, if it is saveable at all.”

On concerns that a change of leadership in Umno could destabilise the national unity government, Jayum said this was a possibility but it was more likely for Zahid’s replacement to keep the party in power while he consolidated his position.

Syaza Shukri, assistant professor of political science at International Islamic University Malaysia, said the call for Zahid to resign as the Umno president was fair, given that his predecessor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, did so after leading the party and BN to defeat in the 2018 general election.

Zahid only stayed on due to the “lifeline” PH gave him in order to form the national unity government, she said.

Syaza said Zahid should have used the second chance to reform Umno but did not. Instead, he led it to yet another disastrous electoral showing last weekend.

“Short of what he is already doing in courting grassroots leaders, there’s really not much he can do. We see now people’s rejection — from Malays and non-Malays — is of Zahid, not really Umno.

“While it is true there are court cases across the parties, PN successfully put the judiciary spotlight on Zahid,” she said, adding that a transition in Umno might not be destabilising for the government if PH could come to an agreement with Zahid’s successor.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Institute of Ethnic Studies Prof Kartini Aboo Talib @ Khalid said Zahid has to be accountable for both Umno’s poor performance and contributing to PH’s loss of state seats in Selangor.

Electoral performance aside, she said Zahid’s dozens of criminal charges were already reason enough to call for his resignation.

Kartini said PH-BN’s losses in the state election were a manifestation of voters’ disagreement with the deal cut between Zahid and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form the national unity government after the 15th general election.

While Anwar needed Zahid’s support to tip the Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalitions in his favour, she said this was not a universally accepted arrangement, least of all in Zahid’s own party.

Umno grassroots still felt deceived by Zahid’s insistence before the general election that he would not bring the party to work with Anwar or DAP in PH, only for him to do so when it appeared as though PN would form the federal government.

“There is a trust deficit here,” she said.

The call for Zahid to step down as Umno president has come from within and without the party, after Umno won just 19 seats in the six state elections on Saturday.