Zahid not Umno’s only PM-in-waiting, says analyst

Although Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been described as a “prime minister‑in‑waiting”, a political analyst argues that other party leaders are equally capable of leading the country — with far less baggage.

Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said Umno need not “eliminate” Zahid as party president, though it would augur well for the Barisan Nasional lynchpin to give greater prominence to other senior leaders.

He said Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, also known as Tok Mat, as well as vice-presidents Johari Ghani and Khaled Nordin were quite capable of replacing Zahid at the helm of the party.

“Umno needs to give alternatives. It has a very capable lineup of leaders who can replace Zahid when the time comes, such as Tok Mat and Johari.

“These are two very capable leaders without any baggage or liability (unlike Zahid),” he told FMT.

This would be a strategic move, said Azmi, enabling Umno to project a cleaner, anti‑corruption image, given that several party leaders have been tainted by corruption cases.

Zahid himself remains under a cloud. Facing 47 charges in the Yayasan Akalbudi case, the Umno president is seeking a full acquittal, having been granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in September 2023.

“So in this particular case, a new breed of leaders, including Khaled, is needed to give the perception that Umno isn’t going back to its old ways of just allowing corruption among its leaders,” Azmi said.

“I think that’s very important if Umno and PAS want to form the federal government with the help of Borneo parties like Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.”

Last week, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin labelled Zahid a potential “prime minister‑in‑waiting” following the Umno president’s keynote address at the party’s general assembly.

Khairy, a former Cabinet minister, also described BN as a “government‑in‑waiting”, hinting at the prospect of an Umno‑led federal administration following the next general election (GE16).

Although BN currently holds only 30 parliamentary seats, the Umno‑led coalition’s confidence has been boosted following decisive victories in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, the latter secured through a pact with Perikatan Nasional.

Umno is hoping to build on this momentum in the Melaka state polls, expected to be held by the end of the year, and GE16, which the party wants called sooner rather than later.

However, Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs dismissed the notions of prime minister- and government‑in‑waiting as nothing more than an “election bluff”.

“It’s just an attempt to create momentum and so on, it’s nothing more than that,” he said.

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