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PETALING JAYA: Two political analysts have expressed doubts that Umno will take disciplinary action against its president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and his predecessor, Najib Razak, if it is true that the two are among the MPs supporting Anwar Ibrahim’s attempt to become Prime Minister.
James Chin, from the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, told the FMT that he believed they had the respect of the larger Umno faction.
In Zahid’s case, he said, it was he who named the people who make up the party’s current disciplinary committee.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said it was hard to believe that Umno would take any action against the man at the head of the party.
“And in fact, as the leader of the party, you have the right to direct the party in any political direction that you consider beneficial to your interests,” he told FMT.
“Individual members like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah may not agree with the new direction, in which case they would be welcome to express their opinions or even leave the party.”
Chin and Oh made their comments following Razaleigh’s suggestion that any party member who supports opposition parties should face disciplinary action, including dismissal from the party.
The prince of Kelantan, also known as Ku Li, said party leaders should not be exempt from disciplinary action if they are indeed among those who support the opposition.
His comments came after speculation that Zahid and Najib were among the MPs who had declared their support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in his bid to become the next prime minister.
Oh described Razaleigh’s comments as selfish, saying the party veteran appeared to be aiming for the prime minister post himself.
He also said that the idea that Umno should not work with the opposition was strange as Umno was working with rivals PAS and PPBM.
“I think Ku Li is finding it difficult to gain traction within the party to support his bid for the presidency, and so he would like to be enthusiastic in trying to attract support,” he added.
Chin agreed that Razaleigh was probably trying to rally support around him.
However, he said, most of the Umno members he had been in contact with felt that the Gua Musang MP had passed his prime, though that would not stop him from trying to run for the party’s top post.
He claimed that Razaleigh “had always dreamed” of becoming president of Umno.
“But I don’t think anyone takes it seriously,” he said. “People say that if Dr. Mahathir Mohamad can do it, why can’t Ku Li? The difference is that Mahathir is unique. I don’t think Ku Li is a unique politician. “
