This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 5, 2018 - November 11, 2018

DATUK Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is not budging. He has no intention of going on leave as Umno president, what more quit. That is the situation, at least at the time of writing.

Apparently, he met with Umno Youth — which had urged him to take leave of absence weeks ago — and explained his stand and views. The youth wing was not convinced. They still want him to step aside. The question is, how hard will they push?

When word first got around that Pemuda Umno was about to act following the 45 charges levelled at Zahid in court, it was said that they would “pressure” their president to go on leave, at the very least. Some even predicted they would go all the way to demand that Zahid relinquishes his post.

But after the Umno Youth exco met to discuss the issue, the words uttered by their chief, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, seemed somewhat watered down.

Instead of the expected “strong pressure” on Zahid, Umno Youth opted to say he should “consider” taking leave until his court cases are settled. It said further that “taking leave is not an admission of guilt”.

Watered down, according to Umno watchers, could very well be in accordance with Malay culture to cakap berlapik or make a guarded statement. Watered down it might be, but the message was clear — for which the youth was accused of being kurang ajar.

That triggered a barrage of attacks — albeit verbal — from the president’s men. Harsh and rude words were used, and are still being said. It seems that the youth had stirred up a hornets’ nest. The most vicious tirade was reserved for Asyraf.

And when the youth chief responded by saying he would not entertain people who attack him, the hornets kept buzzing angrily.

Now that Umno Youth is adamantly sticking to its earlier call, how hard will, or can, it push?

But first another question. Will the president and his men push back?

Zahid is set to continue his nationwide road show. The official version is that the tour is to revive the party’s spirits following the GE14 defeat and is in fact part of the measures outlined by Zahid in his speech at the Umno general assembly in September, before he was charged.

But what is happening now is different. With the charges against Zahid, the tour is seen as a platform for him to address the concerns of grassroots supporters and to maintain his innocence with regard to the court charges.

But some in Umno see it as a move to garner support. Seen from another perspective, Zahid is rallying the troops. He is fighting back.

Thus, the current situation — an Umno civil war between a group led by Zahid himself, which wants him to carry on as president, and another which wants him to go. For now, the demand is still for him to go on leave. As to whether there’s anything else, we will have to wait and see.

 But bear in mind that Zahid is facing 45 charges and it will be a long process. So, asking him to take leave before the final verdicts have been decided is tantamount to asking him to quit.

Nonetheless, will the call initiated by Umno Youth gain traction? At the moment, there is momentum. There have been calls from the divisions for the president to go on leave.

According to a veteran journalist, Umno Youth has shown “guts” in “advising” the president to go on leave, but “it’s sad that Asyraf is alone”. He was referring to top leaders in the party not coming out to express support for the youth leader.

It would be interesting to see where members of the Supreme Council stand on the issue — at least the majority of them. It will not come as a surprise if many opted to be with the president. Still, one can never be too sure.

Zahid’s (and Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s) staunch supporter Datuk Lokman Adam views the presence of deputy president Datuk Mohamad Hasan in the president’s tour as a “show of solidarity”. But it was Mohamad who first brought up the “go on leave proposal” when he said there was a possibility Zahid needed to go on leave based on an Umno standard operating procedure put in place in 2009, which requires party leaders facing criminal charges to do so.

However, that was shot down by secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa who said that was for the days when Umno was in government — thus, it does not apply to Zahid as Umno is no longer in power.

The Supreme Council will meet soon to discuss the issue. Interesting days lie ahead, but is “interesting” the right word to use in describing the situation?

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.