The First Lame Duck PM

Prime minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, is ruling Malaysia with a lack of 'majority'. He currently only enjoys 111 support out of a total of 222 parliamentary seats. His allies, Umno (United Malays National Organisation) and PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia), have tremendous influence over what he can or cannot do. A lame-duck prime minister is a term commonly used for his situation. He is the first in Malaysian history to be called a lame-duck prime minister. 

He has more fear of losing his prime ministership than to care about the welfare of the country. Would he even care about the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the country when he keeps losing sleep over his job?

On the eve of Christmas last year, 2 prominent leaders of Umno, Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li) and Puad Zarkashi, speaking at different locations but stating the same messages against support for Muhyiddin's government. Puad urged Barisan Nasional to withdraw its support for Muhyiddin because he did not honour his 2021 budget promises on EPF i-Sinar scheme and the automatic loan moratorium extension. Ku Li shared the same sentiment. 

Puad also urged the party not to rigidly rule out working with others, such as the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP (Demoratic Action Party). The “No DAP, no Anwar” position by Umno should not be the party’s final stand, hinted Ku Li, the Umno veteran. Puad further asserted that the “No Anwar, no DAP” slogan would not necessarily remain relevant all the time, as political scenarios and the people would keep changing.

With prominent leaders of Muhyiddin's allies speaking openly against him, what else is in store for him? How long can he claim a majority government at the same time what his government has is the lack of majority? A majority so thin that it will collapse if 1 or 2 parliamentarians change their mind at any time.

The End of UMNO ?

If you look at the following political parties in Malaysia, you will find one thing in common among them:

1. Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM)
2. Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang)
3. Group led by Azmin Ali (AA)
4. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)
5. Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan)

All of them, in one way or another, have a significant group of politicians from United Malays National Organisation (Umno). PPBM and Pejuang are practically ex-Umno parties.

Should you put Umno and the 5 spin-offs together, you can imagine how strong a political force Umno can be. Umno has for decades been known as a synonym of Malaysia insofar politics are concerned. All the prime ministers of Malaysia thus far are all closely linked to Umno's dominance.

Umno, as a once formidable political force deciding who was the prime minister of Malaysia, has degraded into a political faction that has to work with other parties just to maintain its relevance in the ruling coalition. Why? Umno has lost its shine due to its own corruption and abuse of power over the decades when the party helmed the country.

The leaders in Umno have become so greedy that Malaysia was getting too small for Umno. Malaysia was incurring huge debts just to feed the luxurious personal appetite of Umno leaders and their cronies. If history is of any lesson, Umno is expected to go down the slippery slope and become an even less influential party in the years to come. The situation is not dissimilar to those political parties once very dominant in other countries. 

The end of Umno is near. Do you agree?