After surviving a rough year, Najib heads into 2016 stronger than ever
For many Malay-Muslim voters, an Umno-PAS cooperation would be a dream come true and any leader who could actually pull it off would stand to gain much goodwill, said Ibrahim Suffian of the independent polling agency, Merdeka Center.
Sheridan Mahavera, The Malaysian Insider
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be near invincible this year even as he is expected to face more strident calls from within and outside Umno to quit.
Although 2015 was the roughest year of his six-year leadership, the 62-year-old Umno president managed to cement his hold on the Malay ruling party and quash his internal enemies, including the widely influential Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The only real opposition to Najib outside Umno, the Pakatan Harapan parties, are in disarray and are unable to tap into a disenchanted electorate to muster an effective multi-ethnic movement against him.
In fact, Najib has started a subtle yet effective initiative to further divide the opposition and cement his position among the Malay-Muslim masses by courting PAS, the country’s second largest political party after Umno.
In his policy speech at the Umno general assembly on December 10, Najib offered PAS the chance to work together to build a “perfect” Malaysia.
On December 17, Najib and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang donned colour-coordinated traditional Malay dress to jointly officiate the Al-Azhar University alumni dinner in Kuala Lumpur.
He reiterated his olive branch towards PAS and urged the two parties to come together for the sake of the Malay-Muslim community.
Hadi responded to these overtures by saying on December 26 that PAS wants to be “adviser” to the Barisan Nasional ruling government, which Umno heads.
For many Malay-Muslim voters, an Umno-PAS cooperation would be a dream come true and any leader who could actually pull it off would stand to gain much goodwill, said Ibrahim Suffian of the independent polling agency, Merdeka Center.
“He can mute criticism towards him in Umno with something as big as this because he will show that he can expand support for Umno.”
One reason why the internal rebellion inside Umno has not caught on is the support Najib has from the party’s middle-ranking division leaders, said analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan of the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).
Although the slow-brewing uprising is catching fire at the lower ranks, it has not been enough to unseat Najib, even when it is being spurred on by Dr Mahathir.
But main problem with the anti-Najib movement, from within and outside Umno, said Wan Saiful, was that there was no clear replacement for Najib and this crippled its momentum.
“The two elements have to come together. You can’t really ask him to resign and yet not provide an idea of who will take over.”
