A call to Bubar, and Umno’s loyalty trap for Anwar

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi received a call for dissolution from opposition parties after the Melaka state election results. The "Bubar!" chant, meaning "dissolve," was chanted by Barisan Nasional supporters. Umno has been criticized for maintaining minimum loyalty to the coalition government, doing only what the agreement requires and nothing more.

This strategy allows Umno to push the government towards dissolution without pulling it down itself. Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said suggested four options for responding to the call: mediate, stay calm, end the agreement, or review the clause on Islam, the Malays and the Rulers. However, none of these options require Parliament to be dissolved.

Umno's strategy has been to let Pakatan Harapan (PH) initiate the rupture, presenting itself as the party that honored the agreement until the end. This gives Umno a politically advantageous position as the government's principal Malay political partner. The dissolution trap for Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of PH, is apparent in the shift of attention to the stability of the federal government due to the chant and the question of when Parliament will be dissolved.