Will Umno ‘divorce’ Bersatu tomorrow?

Joceline Tan, The Star

IT has been a weekend of discontent in Umno with voices from the party grassroots rising in concert against its ruling partner Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

The Umno supreme council meeting tomorrow evening (Jan 6) will have no choice but to take heed of the tidal wave of condemnation from the division meetings last weekend and the numerous resolutions to cut off ties with Bersatu.

The media have been rather diplomatic in their reports on the division meetings.

Delegates at many divisions went beyond calling for a break-up.

Many ran down Bersatu, raking up every word and act of insult they had experienced over the last few years. There was also some pretty colourful name-calling ranging from traitors to thieves and frogs.

A great deal of their animosity was directed at those who won the general election on an Umno ticket and jumped to Bersatu. The singled out ex-Umno politicians who are now Bersatu ministers, especially a Johor Bersatu figure who labelled Umno a party with no future.

If this was a marriage, then it is a union on the verge of divorce.

The party’s supreme council meeting tomorrow is now faced with the tough decision whether to call it quits with Bersatu or to stay on.

“The message from the ground is loud and clear. For sure, we will not give up any of the seats that we won in GE14. If Bersatu cannot accept that, then we go our way, they go their way. That’s how I see it,” said former Kapar division chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah.

Umno is a grassroots party and it is apparent that at least two-thirds of the divisions want the party to get out.

Umno politicians are convinced that Bersatu is trying to replace Umno because, as an aide to an Umno minister pointed out, the Malay base is not big enough for two Malay nationalist parties.

“I don’t think Umno is ready for a clean break yet but the grassroots’ endorsement has given the leadership the clout to tell Bersatu not to take Umno for granted.

“It is also a prelude to the Umno general assembly at the end of this month. That will be the ultimate platform for Umno to decide whether to break off or stay on,” said Umno insider Dr Azmi Omar.

He believes that Umno is flexing its muscles but reserving the knock-out punch for later.

The headline of a Malay daily yesterday claimed that 189 out of 191 Umno divisions had rejected Bersatu.

However, apart from Putrajaya and Ketereh which openly endorsed the Perikatan Nasional government, a number of other divisions, especially those helmed by ministers, refrained from the general party trend.

Deputy ministers who do not need to face Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at Cabinet meetings were also less reserved.

Lipis division chief Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad, who is also a deputy minister, declared that the party would not cede any seat in the division to Bersatu.

According to Putrajaya deputy chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, his division boss Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had told the meeting that he was involved in the formation of the current government and had endorsed Muhyiddin for the PM post.

“It does not make sense for him to now pull back support for the PM. He is being consistent, that’s all,” said Tun Faisal.

Annuar, who is a dazzling orator, gave an impassioned speech at the Ketereh division meeting, saying he was prepared to be sacked for his stand but that his loyalty to Umno is beyond doubt.

In Bera, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob took a conciliatory tone and urged Malay parties to seek a formula and avoid a clash in the polls.

But Umno president and Bagan Datuk chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi seemed to be sending out mixed signals.

He spoke about the need for Malay unity while calling for an early general election which has come to be seen as an implied threat that Umno has the numbers to collapse the government.

This was demonstrated in Perak when it threw out the Mentri Besar.

Zahid has Javanese roots and the joke in Umno is that Javanese are known to tuck their keris at their back, unlike the Malays who wear their keris in front.

“He is smiling at you, talking nicely, but he can pull out his keris from the back anytime,” said Kapar’s Faizal.

The “tolak Bersatu” or anti-Bersatu sentiment has gathered momentum since the last election but there were definitely some hidden hands pushing the divisions towards a common conclusion.

Some claimed one of these hands belonged to Bossku or Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is a great believer that the party’s clout comes from the division.

It is difficult for the party to go against what the divisional leaders want and it seems like he has pulled it off.

In fact, Najib’s speech in Pekan was a no-holds-barred warning that Umno would be killed off if it stayed with Perikatan. He urged the party to take back its leading role in politics.

Lost amid all the shock and awe of last weekend’s rumblings was the fact that many Umno divisions advocated the continued partnership with PAS.

Only Terengganu and some divisions in Perak had criticised PAS.

In the meantime, supreme council member Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad said cool heads must prevail at the supreme council meeting.