DATUK Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s hold on the UMNO presidency remains in a precarious position despite him being granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for the 47 corruption charges involving Yayasan Akalbudi, said analysts.
According to a Malay Mail report, International Islamic University Malaysia assistant professor of political science Syaza Shukri has called the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman’s conditional discharge a “short-term boost” as his rivals could still make use of his earlier prosecution to paint him as corrupt.
“He (Zahid) can easily say that he hasn’t been convicted so it is not fair to call him corrupt. But the fact that charges were initially brought is reason enough to reject him. Plus, the DNAA is apparently to collect more evidence so it is not as if he is acquitted and innocent,” she told the English daily.
Syaza further noted that Zahid’s position has been fragile since he won the presidency in 2018 and that the pressure on him had only continued to mount.
“It’s just a matter of how long he can stay now,” she remarked.
On Sept 4, Zahid was granted a DNAA on all 47 of his corruption, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering charges involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi.
The DNAA opens the possibility of Zahid being recharged in the future if prosecutors wish to revisit the matter.
Meanwhile, Academy for Strategic Research (NASR) senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan opined that Zahid’s position as the UMNO president is only until the next party election.
“Without DNAA I guess it would change Ahmad Zahid’s position in this case because even before the DNAA he refused to step down (from the party president post) and more so after DNAA,” he told Malay Mail.
“But again, his rivals can say that with the DNAA, he is still not clear with his corruption charges or not be found not guilty.
“If he was found not guilty, then I think Ahmad Zahid rival will be in a weaker position, but that’s not the case here as the attorney general could still charge him (for the same offence).”
According to Azmi, Pakatan Harapan (PH) should help create a perception that UMNO alongside PKR and Amanah can defend the Malay rights as UMNO is losing the Malay support which is purportedly due to the voters’ being angry with Zahid.
Asked whether pushing for a Cabinet reshuffle would be a good move to resolve UMNO’s ongoing issues, Azmi acknowledged that it would be difficult as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim needed to satisfy the 18 different parties that had thrown their support behind him.
However, Universiti Malaya political analyst Dr Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub expressed confidence that Zahid’s position as the UMNO president is cemented after the DNAA.
“It is difficult to get rid of him from the party president post because of his position as the deputy prime minister that not only has power but also respect,” he opined.
“Whereas, his political rivals who do not have any position in the unity government only seems to get weaker.”
Mohammad Tawfik said the Malays can certainly reject UMNO and Zahid in the next general election, but they do not have the capacity to remove Zahid as the party president, adding that Zahid has placed many trusted people in the important position of the UMNO hierarchy.
“However, the 16th general election is still a long way to go and various things can happen to UMNO in between that can regenerate political energy to the party and restore their confidence,” he pointed out.
He also said that PH should push for a Cabinet reshuffle for UMNO to heal and bounce back, and this can come in the form of resting Zahid from the Cabinet post. – Sept 14, 2023
Main pic credit: Harian Metro
