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Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s support for the share sale could further damage his popularity within the party.
(FMT) – Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s insistence that Umno has no objection to the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) shares to a company linked to BlackRock could damage his popularity within the party, analysts said.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Zahid’s stance on the matter could even lead to a movement within the party to oust him.
His comments came after Zahid claimed that Umno’s stance was in line with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s on the MAHB deal.
The Umno president’s move contradicts claims by his deputy, Mohamad Hasan, also known as Tok Mat, that Umno ministers had pleaded with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd not to sell its stake in MAHB to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh had also previously called for the agreement to be scrapped.
“The impression is that Tomat and Akmal are more representative of the sentiments of the Umno grassroots, while Zahid is merely trying to appease his ‘boss’ and long-time mentor in the government, Anwar,” Fuzi told FMT.
However, he said the rift between Zahid and Mohammed may be more cosmetic than substantial.
“On one hand, Zahid’s move was to continue to win support for Umno from the prime minister, and on the other hand, Tok Mat’s response was to assure Umno’s grassroots supporters that party leaders had not given up the fight for Islam and Muslims,” he said.
Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University of Malaysia said Zahid was sticking to his stance to appear “more supportive of a unity government”.
“This will of course trigger more anger within Umno as Zahid may be seen as too pro-Anwar,” she said.
Despite this, Syaza said Zahid’s position within UMNO was relatively secure as he had no real rival for the party’s top post.
“There may be criticism within the party but the reality is that he will retain the top job for some time.”
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, a former BowerGroupAsia executive, said Zahid would be driven out of UMNO if it lost more seats in the next general election, making him less strategically important to Anwar.
No impact on Sungai Bakap by-election
Both Fauzi and Syed Zaiza predicted that PN would use Zahid’s stance on the Malaysia Airports deal to rally Malay voters against the unity government in the upcoming Sungai Bakap state by-election.
However, Asrul said the Sungai Bakap by-election was very much a local one and Umno was neither the main driver nor the co-driver of the unity government’s campaign.
“Zahid is not a problem. I don’t think it will lead to a boycott of PKR’s campaign, but it will make it more difficult to win over neutrals in rural constituencies,” he said.
The National Alliance is fielding Abidin Ismail, the deputy president of the Islamist Party in Bukit Mertajam, while the Hope Alliance is nominating Joohari Ariffin, a former teacher from the PKR, as its candidate.
“Ultimately, livelihood issues will determine voters’ fate. Similarly, it was not the 1MDB scandal that led to Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the 2018 general election, but the Goods and Services Tax and the high cost of living,” said Asrul.
The Sungai Bakap constituency is a mixed constituency, with Malay voters accounting for 59.4%, Chinese accounting for 22.5%, Indians accounting for 17.4% and others accounting for 0.7%.
Voters will go to the polls on July 6, and early voting will take place on July 2.
The seat became vacant on May 24 following the death of Islamist MP Nor Zamri Latiff.
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