Could Umno's poster boy reinvigorate Muafakat Nasional's revival?

SHAH ALAM - Last Thursday, the Umno supreme council (MKT) reached a decision by naming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its poster boy to face the 15th general election (GE15).

“The decision is surprising as at the time Umno is thought to have been split in two factions, one led by Ismail Sabri while another camp is led by party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak or what is known as the PWTC camp, right after Umno and BN retook Putrajaya last year.

Apart from that decision, 56 MKT members also agreed for a special Annual General Assembly (AGM) to be carried out after Aidilfitri to amend the party Constitution on conducting the party elections after GE.

To many political observers, the announcement is seen as proof of solidarity among Umno leaders in facing GE15, with Ismail Sabri touting that the decision reached by the MKT shows that there is no factionalism within the party.

However, when Ismail Sabri was named as Umno’s prime minister candidate without the assurance that he would be given the trust to lead the party after GE15, the decision reached by the MKT raised more questions than answers.

What is most important in Umno's unanimous decision, will Pas change its political stance and return to Muafakat Nasional?

The stance of Ismail Sabri, who is also Umno vice president, during the 2021 AGM clearly contradicts Ahmad Zahid’s when the Bera MP attempted to garner the support of party delegates to allow his administration to serve its term until the end of next year despite the PWTC camp demanding that GE15 is done as soon as possible.

Political observers actually opined that the MKT’s decision is only the PWTC faction’s way to compromise and urged Ismail Sabri to dissolve Parliament sooner so that an election can be called with the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“The decision also shows that Ahmad Zahid is placating the Putrajaya faction led by Ismail Sabri because the prerogative power to dissolve parliament is placed on the hand of the prime minister and not the party president.

“However, if the decision to nominate Ismail Sabri is seen as an ultimatum by the Umno leadership in facing Ge15, then the issue is still vague because the Putrajaya faction are not easily swayed by that decision.

“The Johor Menteri Besar situation involving Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad shows that there is no guarantee that a leader that has been nominated will actually be appointed to the position of party leader,’’ said senior lecturer at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Razak faculty Perdana Center Dr Mazlan Ali.

On Pas’ stance after Ismail Sabri being Umno’s poster boy, it could not be denied that many parties that Pas, now with Perikatan Nasional (PN) will return to Muafakat Nasional (MN).

There are also parties that opined Pas will reevaluate its cooperation with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) before GE15 after Ismail Sabri has been chosen to lead Umno as he is soon to be clean and clear of any controversies which is expected to draw support Malay fence voters towards Umno.

Hard realization

However, Umno is still considered as Pas’ fierce rival in several of Pas’ stronghold states such as Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

“I do not see any effort between both parties to mend their ties through MN with the decision reached by the MKT.

“With Ismail Sabri before this is seen to lean more to PN, the decision to nominate the Bera MP as Umno’s poster boy actually will raise Pas’ confidence that the effort to unite the ummah between Pas, Umno and Bersatu is much more realistic to achieve.

“What is most important, the Johor and Melaka state election shows that Pas is more comfortable and has garnered more votes with PN including clinching the Maharani state seat in Johor, a state where the party has no political strength.

“This is because Pas as a party is dominant and prefers to control the political dynamics with Bersatu under PN compared to Umno and Pas which is tense in nature,’’ said Mazlan.