When Khairy Jamaluddin predicted that the Umno president would remain oblivious to the message from voters and will not resign even if many of its candidates lose at the polls in the six state elections, there appears to be a cryptic message in that prediction.
The message appears to be a clarion call for those members and supporters of KJ and Hishamuddin who were waiting by the kerbside itching for change of the present leadership since the sacking and suspension of KJ and Hishamuddin to start their action plans to call for their President to step down immediately.
The ex Terengganu Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Idris Jusoh already started the ball rolling with the posting on his Facebook the day after the election results.
Soon the country will witness a roll call by those on the fringes presently joining this call followed by those nearer the centre of power and finally maybe those next in line mouthing the inevitable.
Obviously, the President would remain oblivious and counter any such moves. Rarely an incumbent will step down voluntarily before their term ends.
Moreso in this case, their President has all the corruption charges pending before him.
Remaining in his position as the President of UMNO will afford him certain leverage in his defence and appeal.
For him to resign from his position before he exhausted all legal avenue for the corruption charges against him is akin to him going into the wild from his safe sanctuary in an urban setting and be devoured by all the wild animals lurking around in the broad daylight.
For sure the President will `orchestrate’ his loyalists to start defending him by publicly calling for him not to resign but to continue steering the party until the next GE as his services and leadership is still needed and is crucial to the party staying relevant.
It is whether those who have the ambitions to succeed him and rise up the ranks will to adopt a wait and see strategy.
If they are to make their move, it is unlikely those waiting in line in the party hierarchy now, will invite back Khairy and Hishamuddin to support them.
And these 2 stalwarts will not return unless they are promised a leading role in the party.
And none of those who are next in line now and also benefitted immensely from the `exit’ of the 2 stalwarts earlier this year will welcome them back with open arms and agree to their pre-conditions.
Within these parameters, it is likely that UMNO will implode with factions jostling for power at the top of the party.
If this happens, UMNO the political party will hasten its journey into oblivion, the way their former partner, Gerakan went through, from its ouster from Penang in 2008 and its annihilation in the 13th and 14th GE with the final nail hammered into the necessity for their existence in the election in the 6 states on 12 Aug 2023.
MCA and MIC, partners with UMNO in BN has already started their journey preceding UMNO’s descent.
The promises of renewal and rejuvenation never happened in any of them, consistent with how they make promises to the voters.
The leaders in these parties become so accustomed to making promises and not delivering them that they do the same to their party faithful and supporters.
Will UMNO follow the same path as their partners in its descent into complete irrelevance?
From the recent speeches and demands made by those in the 2nd echelon of the leadership for others to respect them, it appears that the potential leaders that will replace the present line up in the party are also incapable of renewing and rejuvenating the party.
Just look at the statement by one of their Supreme Council member who blame the cooperation their party has with DAP as one of the cause for their drubbing and another suggesting the party not to field anyone older than 45 years old in the next General Election to the calls by them to helm Negeri Sembilan when Pakatan Harapan won more seats than UMNO appears to indicate that the entire present leadership does not feel they have the need to completely renew to rejuvenate the party.
If these are the next echelon of leaders potentially taking over the leadership of the party in the near future, possibly they could be ones helming the party that will hasten the descent into oblivion.
The President could be saying hasta la vista sooner than expected even without the spark started by Khairy on election date snowballed.
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