When Malaysia’s largest political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), held its annual general meeting last weekend, its delegates endorsed a plan to contest against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s shaky ruling coalition at the next general election – the same coalition it is currently propping up.
The Malay nationalist party is currently the largest bloc in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) governing alliance. UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s announcement that the party will contest elections as part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition it separately leads and not cooperate with any other parties was, however, a foregone conclusion.
A feud between UMNO, which continuously governed Malaysia for more than 60 years until 2018, and Muhyiddin’s smaller Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) party, an UMNO splinter group, has stoked infighting and ultimatums, effectively destabilizing the premier’s 13-month rule as his government maneuvers to get a handle on a resurgent Covid-19 outbreak.
Despite the rupture, power-sharing between UMNO and Bersatu is set to continue until at least August, when a declared state of emergency that has suspended Parliament and the holding of elections will expire. UMNO’s president has said its ministers, deputy ministers and lawmakers would withdraw support from PN once a clear exit date is decided.
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Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
