Jeniri, a fellow of the Council of Professors, said that although Sabah Umno enjoys autonomy, it does not mean its leaders should be allowed to spark a crisis through political manoeuvres.

“Zahid must put his foot down. These political manoeuvres are very damaging for Umno and Barisan Nasional. People are sick of politicking and want stability,” he told FMT.

“A failure to rein in those pushing for a change in government in Sabah affects Zahid’s leadership credentials.

“This is no small matter. If Zahid knew about it, he should have stopped it. If he spoke against it, the question is why did the push continue anyway, especially when it can affect the unity between the different parties in Sabah.”

Last night, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin announced the party was withdrawing support for Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor, casting doubts over his support in the state assembly.

It is understood that Sabah Umno and Warisan are working together to oust Hajiji, who is chairman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

Pakatan Harapan have pledged their support for him.

Another analyst, James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute, said that what is happening in Sabah will not have much impact on Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

“State-level politics in Sabah and Sarawak operates in a very different dynamic so I don’t see a direct connection to it, affecting the unity government. Of course, it is the same party but here you are talking about the dynamics of politics in Sabah and Sarawak which are very different,” he said.

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said the Sabah branches of the various West Malaysian parties have a great degree of autonomy in making decisions involving primarily state and not federal matters.

He said it was likely the decision was made at the state level with or without the sanction of national Umno leaders.