PM still BN's poster boy after fiery Umno meet

IT was the most emotionally-charged Umno gathering to ever take place inside the World Trade Centre KL's Dewan Merdeka.

Tears flowed for Datuk Seri Najib Razak, there were feelings of frustration and anger over the speed of the Federal Court decision and, most of all, endless calls for the general election to be held soon.

The cries of "bubar" (dissolve Parliament) was so intense that it felt as though the roof would come down.

ALSO READ: Crowd chants 'bubar' as Zahid delivers speech at Umno special briefing (https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/08/27/crowd-chants-039bubar039-as-zahid-delivers-speech-at-umno-special-briefing)

But Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob survived the storm and he emerged from the Umno supreme council meeting later that evening with his poster boy status still intact.

He had skipped the earlier Umno gathering which comprised hundreds of divisional level leaders, choosing to attend an event in his parliamentary seat of Bera.

The Prime Minister’s absence was glaring because he is also the leading party vice-president.

He was probably not prepared to face the crowd and, indeed, there were boos when his name was mentioned a few times.

"I would have advised him to go. This is a party gathering, arrive early to mingle, chat and shake hands but I guess his advisers were afraid for him," said a close associate of Ismail Sabri.

Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has successfully accomplished his purpose for the gathering.

Ahmad Zahid knew the Umno base was angry that the party had allowed this to happen to Najib and many Wanita Umno ladies told him they had been crying non-stop.

The party’s solidarity for Najib came out loud and clear at the gathering and so did their concern about why his legal team was denied time to prepare and make submissions in court.

There had been rumours that the Prime Minister might wait till next year to call for elections and those at the gathering drummed it home that it has to be soon.

Some had expected the mood in the afternoon to boil over to the supreme council meeting in the evening.

But none of the supreme council members questioned why Ismail had not attended the earlier gathering.

"We have a general election to fight, we cannot be fighting with each other," said one supreme council member.

ALSO READ: GE15 preparations, party solidarity discussed at Umno supreme council meet, say party leaders

Everyone acted as though nothing unusual had happened although the security around the Prime Minister was concerned enough to dispatch an armoured car to the World Trade Centre.

Ahmad Zahid allowed the supreme council members to say their piece and when it came to Ismail Sabri’s turn, he acknowledged the calls for a general election, saying he did not want to discuss it openly at the meeting.

There was no need for the supreme council to pressure him because he was probably aware of the tears and the sentiments inside Dewan Merdeka although he was not present.

He knows that there are few secrets in politics and he did not want his plans to be leaked to the opposition parties. It is understood that he intends to discuss his plans with the Umno president.

Ismail, who is also aware of gossip that he is taking orders from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, stressed once again that he is a party man and will abide by what the party wants.

Ismail Sabri’s standing in Umno has been dented but he is still the poster boy for Barisan Nasional.

No one in Umno is going to take that away from him.

He also holds a powerful weapon – he is the only person who has the constitutional right to seek the King’s consent to dissolve Parliament.

The fiery mood at the gathering stunned many of the leaders seated on the stage as they watched women and grown men tear up especially when Najib’s daughter Nooryana Najwa spoke.

ALSO READ: Najib’s children pay tribute to their dad in heartfelt speeches

Supreme council member Datuk Suraya Yaakob was so overcome, she put her hands over her face and wept.

Nooryana, known as Gina at home, spoke so well that Umno leaders are hoping she will be part of the "Solidarity for Najib" campaign that the party is planning in the Malay heartland.

When Najib was sent to Kajang Prison on Tuesday (Aug 23), Pakatan Harapan leaders took to social media to claim credit for achieving what they set out to do in 2018 after taking over Putrajaya.

Many of them celebrated with the battle cry: "We did it, we can do it again!"

They had put Bossku behind bars and found the magic bullet they needed to go into the next general election.

But a week is a long time in politics and it seems like Najib’s imprisonment may have set the Malay heartland on fire.

Najib may have become more dangerous to the Opposition than when he was roaming free.

The views expressed here are the writer’s own.