Umno tunjuk berani

Rosmah Mansor received a standing ovation at the Umno Supreme Council 2026 event, demonstrating the party's affection for her husband, former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Upon urging by Umno President Zahid Hamidi, Rosmah stood to greet the audience, requesting that representatives hope for good news, referring to the Forgiveness Conference held the previous day.

The good news Zahid mentioned concerned Najib's request for forgiveness. However, the PMO later announced that the Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, had postponed Najib's petition to the next session. The Agong presides over the Forgiveness Conference. During the same session, Sultan Ibrahim graciously pardoned 65 prisoners. It is unclear when Umno received news of this postponement, whether before or after the Umno assembly was delayed for Friday prayers.

Nonetheless, Umno did not welcome the news, even if the decision was final. As previously stated in my writings, as long as Umno continues to support Najib and demands what they call fairness for his former presidency, the majority of the public will distance themselves from Umno. This is because the majority is content with the belief that Najib has been given sufficient opportunities through every layer of national court proceedings, and they have already accepted his fairness.

Of course, Umno disagrees with this opinion but is confident of winning the upcoming general election. At the PAU 2026 opening remarks, Zahid expressed Umno's confidence in securing a mandate to form the government through the Blue Wave. The exact nature of the blue wave—whether it refers to the Blue National Front coalition led by Umno or the Blue Perikatan Nasional coalition led by PAS—was clearly stated.

PAS had already declared their stance the previous weekend. In summary, our delegates want to preserve our seats, there is no tolerance, our country (SG4) we want to retain, and other countries we want more seats, with the position of Prime Minister definitely belonging to us. What about Zahid? I believe he agrees. In his speech today, he referred to certain parties using the terms "enough enough" and "give us a chance."

One does not need to be a political expert to know who he was referring to. Zahid also urged "enough enough" teachers to listen to our voices, our people's voices, teachers, enough enough, perhaps we can do better than what you have done. Earlier, Zahid had likened Anwar Ibrahim to his mentor. I accept that what Zahid said is Umno's opinion.

However, when he spoke about the people's voice, I wondered when he or his party were speaking on behalf of the people. Regardless, Zahid's confidence that his party could form the government after successes in PRN Johor and Negeri Sembilan, but with cooperation from PAS, is clear. However, in Negeri Sembilan, Umno's leadership remains unstable due to the adat crisis.

As of now, Mohamad Hasan, Umno's vice president from Nismilan, has not commented. However, during the Pemuda, Wanita, and Puteri Umno assembly on Wednesday, he stated that Umno cannot rely on PH or PN. He did not elaborate. He stated that unity among Malays can occur at any time but must be based on the Rumah Bangsa recommendation or Umno's initiative.

Therefore, I quoted an FMT analysis yesterday stating that Umno is not in a position to demand such things. Speaking of Umno not being strong enough, I am intrigued by another FMT report published today, titled "Zahid still an asset to Umno, but there are many pending issues." According to analyst Sivamurugan Pandian, the issues plaguing Umno include the Desa Kemas progress controversy under the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, which is Zahid himself, the Tabungan Haji scandal, Felda, and the long-standing crisis in Negeri Sembilan.

In addition, the issues are said to be politically charged, and Zahid's appeal appears to be increasing. Not to mention the polls and analysts who believe Zahid is a liability for Umno. However, for Khairy Jamaluddin, recently reinstated by Umno after being expelled recently, Zahid's today's speech is taken as a mandate for the prime minister-in-waiting.

Zahid has been urging Anwar to hold early elections since then. This is evident from an Astro Awani report from August 27, 2022, where Zahid repeatedly demanded PRU15 (the upcoming general election) as soon as possible, citing his respect for the people's mandate. I have included an FMT report from the same source. Desperation and demands for early elections persist because Umno is on a high and is confident of winning the election.

Ismail eventually yielded, and PRU15 was held on November 15, 2022. What happened to Umno? This article is the opinion of the writer and may not necessarily reflect FMT's stance.