Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Umno Youth’s Akmal Saleh’s call for a special convention on Jan 3, ahead of the party’s general assembly, was likely to increase internal pressure.
“This issue will be debated and there will be some forceful demands for Umno to pull out of the government, with MN raised as an option,” he told FMT.
Akmal announced that the youth wing will organise a special convention on Jan 3 to gather grassroots views on whether the party should continue its cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
However, Wanita Umno’s Nurulhidayah Zahid cautioned Akmal against issuing ultimatums on the party’s direction, saying they risk creating the perception of a fractured party.
Nurulhidayah, daughter of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said that while she understood grassroots concerns and the youth wing’s role in providing checks and balances, the “stay or leave” narrative carries serious implications.
MN was a short-lived political alliance formed by PAS and Umno in September 2019 with the intention of consolidating the Malay-Muslim vote.
Azmi said delegates attending the convention would most probably push for Umno to withdraw from the government and explore mending ties with the Islamic party to revive the old pact.
However, he said the party’s top leadership was expected to remain committed to the unity government until the next general election. “Only when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim dissolves Parliament will the Umno president say whether the party will pull out and go solo.”
No incentive to abandon unity govt
Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University of Malaysia pointed out that MN was the result of Umno and PAS finding themselves in the opposition following the 14th general election in 2018.
“Umno is not in the opposition now. So why would they want to abandon Madani to join PAS? There’s no real incentive.”
She warned that a return to MN could narrow Umno’s appeal. “Umno would be confined to Malay-majority seats and could even be regressive, as the party risks losing its more centrist position vis-à-vis PAS,” she said.
Syaza and another analyst, James Chin of University of Tasmania, both highlighted that Umno currently holds senior appointments in the government. If Zahid were to work with PAS again, Umno would be relegated to a subordinate role, they said.
This is especially the case if Bersatu remains a key ally of PAS within Perikatan Nasional, Syaza added.
Split over Malay-centric cooperation
Syaza said calls to revisit MN were likely to come from grassroots members who favour Malay-centric political cooperation over Umno’s current role in the unity government.
“There would definitely be a split in opinion, led by grassroot members who prefer MN over Madani.”
Some Umno members and potential election candidates believe the party stands a better chance of winning Malay-majority seats by working with PAS, she said.
Chin said many Umno grassroots members believe MN is key to restoring the party’s influence.
“A lot of Umno grassroots believe that they have to revive it to ensure that Umno will play a big role,” he said, adding that a lot of Umno members are under the impression that Anwar will not win the next general election.
The component parties of the unity government are set to hold a two-day retreat on Jan 10–11 to review policy progress, assess the implementation of their manifestos, and evaluate whether their promises are being effectively delivered to the public.