The fallen United Malays National Organisation is in limbo and a leadership struggle is ongoing, away from the spotlight.
But The Edge Markets portal is saying a power struggle is on and is developing into a full-scale tussle between ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak and current Umno leader Mohamad Hasan.
Hasan is the deputy president but has taken over the duties of former deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, the Umno president who went on leave.
Zahid faces a total of 45 charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power.
According to sources, Najib feels his ‘BossKu’ campaign has gained traction, setting the stage for his return as party leader.
The Edge Markets says Zahid is also pondering on his return as party president. But there are groups who don’t want both Najib and Zahid to make a comeback, sparking a war between the various factions.
The business portal says the current party leadership is planning to amend the party’s constitution to prevent members who are facing criminal charges from holding positions in the party.
This will effectively end the political career of both Najib and Zahid in the Malay party.
Working against their return on the side of Mohamad is former Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin who is incidentally responsible for looking into the proposed constitutional changes in Umno.
But whether the Umno leaders in power now will take the risk to divide the grassroots and lose support from Najib and Zahid’s supporters is another matter.
Najib and Zahid are sitting idle. They are pushing party members who are still on their side to counter the move to amend the constitution.
The fight is on and Umno members will soon know whether the party is moving on from the batch of leaders who caused the downfall of the party which ruled the country for 62 consecutive years. -/TISG