The Malaysian Insight

WHAT is Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi going to do now?

Will he be able to survive as Umno president, or will he be forced to relinquish the position?

With all the court cases he is facing now, and Umno disintegrating by the day, is he still in control or getting enough support to lead the party?

These are the questions Umno and Zahid himself have to answer today, after the president was slapped with another charge in court while half a dozen more lawmakers left the party.

Earlier this morning, Zahid was charged with another case of criminal breach of trust, bringing to 46 the number of charges against him.

Just as the charge was being read out to him at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions court, news came in that Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abd Aziz had left the party.

As it that wasn’t bad enough,  just hours later, five other Umno MPs also quit, informing party secretary-general Annuar Musa of their departure in a letter.

The six who left today are Hamzah Zainudin (Larut), Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Shabudin Yahaya (Tasek Gelugor), Mohd Faisah Mohd Fakeh (Sabah Bernam), Latiff Ahmad (Mersing) and Ikmal Hisham (Tanah Merah).

Six in a day. Earlier this week, 13 Umno Sabah representatives and 21 state divisions also left the party.

As it stands now, Umno only has 37 seats in parliament, after winning 54 in the 14th general election.

Zahid can no longer accuse the defectors of having no fighting spirit, of being cowards and selfish. 

He has blamed Umno leaders who left the party and even Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan for all the court charges stacked against him.

As a party leader, Zahid is responsible for what happens to Umno. The members were looking to him for leadership after former president Najib Razak stepped down.

None came.

Zahid got the mandate when he won the party election by beating former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Almost a month after becoming president, Zahid appointed Tengku Razaleigh to chair the Umno Advisory Council. But until today, the advisory board has not decided on the direction the party had to take as the opposition.

So, the inevitable is taking place now. Calls are getting louder for him to step down.

Umno Youth had previously proposed that he takes a break until his court cases are settled. Today, party members are not so polite anymore.

One by one, Umno leaders from various levels are beginning to speak up. They do not want Zahid as president any longer.

Khairy could not be any clearer when he tweeted today:

“Pemuda, Puteri, Wanita and the Umno supreme council must demand Zahid Hamidi’s resignation. On top of that, Umno must call for an immediate EGM and have a party election to elect a new leadership. Only Umno members can save Umno. PPBM (Bersatu), Anwar (Ibrahim) or PAS can’t save us.” – December 14, 2018.