DESPITE UMNO, in its recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM), had amended its constitution to allow for the postponement of party election until six months after a general election (GE), party polls should be the soonest possible to give Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob a go at presidency.
Only this can ascertain, once and for all, who or which faction has the support of UMNO’s grassroots. Anyway, the UMNO president usually helms Putrajaya as well, by convention, when it wins the general election.
Going by that argument, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should be serving as prime minister but because of his corruption charges, he wisely decided against taking up the job until he is cleared by the court.
Moreover, UMNO/BN with just 42 MP seats cannot helm the Government without the support of Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan) – Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
And Perikatan had made it clear that it would only support a PM with no court charges against him.
That clause should make UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan next in line to assume the premiership but he is not a MP.
And that was how the next in line after Tok Mat, Ismail Sabri got to be the PM, being the vice-president of UMNO with the most number of votes in 2018. Besides, he is the only one in UMNO other than Zahid who has had the experience of being a deputy PM.
Being the PM, Ismail Sabri is the head of the Government and as such, he outranks Zahid who is merely the head of a political party.
This is also reflected in the salutation of Yang Amat Berhormat (YAB) or Right Honourable reserved for the PM, DPM and Menteri Besar as opposed to Zahid’s salutation as Yang Berhormat (YB) or Honourable as an MP.
So, decorum for the PM must be observed especially by the court cluster where Ismail Sabri should not be pressured publicly and openly on a matter that he disagrees, especially when it has not even been discussed by the top five in UMNO.
And UMNO must remember that it is dependent on the support of the other coalition partners. It is not enough just to discuss the dissolution of the Parliament within UMNO and BN but also the heads of all the coalition partners and the Cabinet.
Respect the MoU
This is what consultation (musyawarah) is all about, especially it is no longer like those days when UMNO was strong on its own and did not require consultation. Pakatan Harapan dismantled that in the last general election.
Moreover, there is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability with Pakatan that pledged to avoid triggering a general election before July 31.
As a result, the country has achieved political stability in the last 10 months, which have seen both the Government and the Opposition in fulfilling their part of the bargain to ensure political stability for the country. Otherwise, we would have witnessed another change in Government and PM.
Does the court cluster have any respect on an agreement when they call for the PM to hold snap polls? An MoU is an agreement and the court cluster’s moves show they have no regard for it.
They will only fulfill an agreement so long as the situation is not favourable to them like what they did when they joined forces with Perikatan to make Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin the prime minister.
The moment the situation is favourable to them in not observing an agreement, such as now as they think UMNO will win big, they will stoop so low to chuck out any agreement that restrict their wishes without even waiting for it to expire.
This will result in a trust deficit for UMNO, arising from an ethical breach of trust in agreement.
In light of their tendency to view agreements as not ethically binding, can we also ask whether the party will honour its commitment to install Ismail Sabri as PM again, as agreed in the last UMNO general assembly? In any case, it would be wise for Ismail Sabri to be wary of Zahid’s promises.
And that is why I believe that UMNO should hold its party polls first and let the delegates decide who they want as UMNO president.
If the court cluster refuses, then they have no right to pressure the PM to hold snap polls. After all, a UMNO president is very powerful as his signature is required for any of its members to contest in GE15.
MoU brought stability
If Zahid decides not to sign on the candidacy of UMNO members in the Cabinet cluster as a political revenge, it will mark the end of their political career.
As for July 32 expiry date of the MoU, both the Government and Opposition can extend it beyond the date if they agree to it. Of course, Ismail Sabri will need to discuss it with BN, heads of coalition partners and the Cabinet before agreeing to it.
Just like the decision on calling for a snap election finally rests on the PM’s shoulder after discussion with the relevant parties, the decision to extend the agreement with the Opposition will also fall on his shoulder after he has done the needful in consulting relevant parties.
I mentioned earlier that we may see another change in Government and PM if not for the MoU. Malaysia has already experienced political instability in having three prime ministers within two years, which in turn has affected our economic stability.
And we need to laud the agreement given that it would take only two to three MPs to withdraw support from Ismail Sabri to collapse the Government, just like what Muhyiddin experienced due to the chicanery of the court cluster.
If the call for a snap election by the court cluster is entertained by the PM, there could be a fourth PM (within three years) in the event the Yang di-Pertuan Agong does not give his assent to the dissolution of Parliament.
In that scenario, Ismail Sabri would have to resign and become a caretaker PM while the Agong decides on who would be the next PM.
History will repeat itself then when we will see 220 MPs marching in batches again to the Istana Negara for a third time to see the Agong to tell His Majesty their preferred choice of PM.
That would then make Malaysia the only country in Southeast Asia, perhaps the whole of Asia with four PMs within three years! June 14, 2022
Jamari Mohtar is the Editor of Let’s Talk!, an e-newsletter on current affairs.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
