JANUARY 9 — A strange group of leaders congregated for a former prime minister four days ago.
January 6, the first day of a full working week in 2025 witnessed a collection of men and women — as many as 3,000 — mill outside Putrajaya’s courthouses. There to support ex-prime minister Najib Razak, who seeks to convert his remaining prison sentence, notionally to be served until August 2028, into a house arrest.
It was meant to be a large protest, but fizzled to only a noticeable gathering due to police objections. Indeed, those who did attend face possible legal action.
The numbers do not matter as much as the estranged group of leaders rounded up for a yet to be determined ethnic agenda wrapped around Najib’s pardon. It varies depending on who is asked.
Inside the courtrooms, speculations grow. From Team Najib’s view of how much the Federal Territories Pardons Board is bound to act based on additional input, and the intricacies of the other Najib trial which may result in further prison time. It’s an absolute mess to weave into a central narrative.
The column is preoccupied with developments outside. The effort to reinvigorate ethnic feelings similar to the anti-Rome statute and Seafield temple incident which ended the first Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.
Intriguing they are, but do they add up?
This is not to suggest a convicted man cannot have supporters, far from it. All people deserve love, and in a free country citizens can choose who they love.
The attention is to the leaders’ parade.
Umno lukewarm
Curiously, the examination starts with who did not show up.
Najib’s own party, Umno. His late father was its brains for over 30 years, and his son a party Pahang assemblyman. The convict himself served as party president and prime minister for nearly 10 years. The family is synonymous with the party.
As such, surely the party faithful should flock to the administrative capital on a working day. Unfortunately few did, as the masses stayed home. Affected by the current Umno leadership telling members to excuse themselves from the rally.
Which begs the question, why forsake Najib?
The current president Zahid Hamidi is deputy prime minister, and the party diehards naturally expect him to get police support for the event. It raises questions on how determined Zahid is to aid Najib.
Initially Umno was fully on board. Willing to join a network and show up on January 6. 2025. Umno rescinded the support following police advice, palace intervention and misgivings between them and PAS.
Excuses are cheap if Umno Youth Chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh is asked. He opted to politely ignore his president and attend. He was not alone, several division leaders joined him, but Akmal was the highest profile Umno leader to be present.
Akmal stood beside a selection of Bersatu leaders. Led by its deputy president, Hamzah Zainuddin. Hamzah is also the leader of the Opposition.
Bersatu, risks irrelevance like Mahathir
But back to Bersatu. The party formed to oppose Najib, now finds itself in a prickly situation. To fight for Najib’s liberty. To embrace political expediency rather than principles.
While the Pakatan Harapan government of 2018 kicked off the investigations, arrests and prosecutions of Najib and family, Bersatu brought it home. To be precise, it lent political will to drive Najib home to Kajang Prison.
Both when party president Muhyiddin Yassin was PM, and also when Bersatu propped up an Umno government, through 2020 to 2022.
In essence, they are there for the man they campaigned to imprison. Even Hamzah defected from Umno to Bersatu because he lost faith in the party. And here he was, drumming up support for the man and party he deserted.
Bersatu has reasons to loathe Najib. It was born out of Muhyiddin’s sacking in 2015 by Najib, both as DPM and party deputy president.
In February 2022, months before Najib was shipped to prison, Muhyiddin claimed “Umno was actually betrayed by its own president, Najib Razak.”
Has Muhyiddin changed his mind, no longer sees his former boss as a traitor?
If so, has Bersatu formally changed its tune about Najib?
Away but looking on keenly is 99-year-old Mahathir Mohamad. Somehow, he finds the bluster to back the Putrajaya gathering. Claiming it is a Malay loss not to have the protest over Najib.
Yet, Mahathir’s victorious campaign in 2018 centred around removing a corrupt Najib. He appointed the attorney-general who went after Najib.
Did he change his mind too?
Well, not two years ago when he claimed “history books will name and shame Najib as a criminal”.
Both Bersatu and Mahathir are desperate for political relevancy, which explains best them walking back from their own sentiments.
Bersatu faces the spectre of imploding in the impending Sabah state election. How well can the Malay-first party fare led by a Sabahan Christian Ronald Kiandee at a time state sentiments are at peak in Borneo?
At the end of 2025, Bersatu may have shrunk to a bit player in three PAS run states and treated as the younger brother by the Islamist party in Parliament.
Mahathir, well he is Mahathir. The consummate politician plays whichever game he is left to play. Even if it means lifting up Najib as a Malay icon.
Everything too familiar
The joker in the pack is PAS. They enjoy riding political upheavals like how teenagers crave roller-coasters.
The thinly veiled strategy is to find causes which indicate Malays are sidelined and bunch up support across Malay political entities.
Umno’s standard strategy, one Najib and Muhyiddin are intimately aware of, is to not rebuff calls for ethnic unity, entertain it as long as possible and then lean on technical grounds like in this case the illegality of the event and PAS’ jibes at them to retreat.
Umno also relies on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s adroit handling of ethnic displeasures wherever they are spotted and his impeccable relationship with the various palaces. That’s the insurance.
For now, the matter remains a storm in a teacup.
Political pundits are engrossed but persistent stage acting by all involved might tire the general population. The year has just begun but the old hands are already at it.
The race bluster has a window of six weeks before fasting month commences. It dies off until May, and then it is half a year.
It appears Umno extricated itself well and Bersatu strings itself uncomfortably to Najib. PAS never loses because it sets its own rules. Mahathir is ever willing to lead all of them in a symbolic Malay struggle against barely existent enemies.
It’s no conclusion, just point and game to Anwar early in 2025. Sets and matches are ways away from being sorted.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
