PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional’s decision to drop a number of big names from its general election lineup has prompted an analyst to speculate that Umno is trying to weaken Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s influence.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said Umno could be clipping Ismail’s wings by not fielding some of his allies who served his administration as ministers and deputy ministers.
Among those dropped are Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Annuar Musa (Ketereh), Halimah Sadique (Kota Tinggi), Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara) and Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar).
“This strongly suggests he may not survive long politically or be the prime minister if Umno-BN wins this election,” Oh told FMT.
Another analyst, Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, said the exclusion of ministers and deputy ministers from the lineup served as a warning against open criticism of BN and Umno’s leadership.
He said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in acting against those seen as not toeing the party line, was probably trying to dispel any impression of weakness on his part.
Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the exclusion of the five indicated an emphasis on party loyalty.
“However, it is not a complete purge because Khairy Jamaluddin was still nominated,” he said.
Khairy will be running for the Sungai Buloh seat, considered one of the toughest seats to win for a BN candidate.
In the 2018 elections, Pakatan Harapan’s R Sivarasa won the seat with a majority of more than 26,000 votes.
