Khairy Jamaluddin has made a rather puzzling remark about Umno president Zahid recently.
According to Khairy Jamaluddin , Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has a good chance of becoming Malaysia’s next prime minister after Anwar Ibrahim have raised eyebrows in political circles.
“The odds for Zahid are moving from improbable to quite probable, maybe not the favourite,” he said.
“In any configuration of parties, Umno will hold the key to deciding whether the prime minister remains in power.
According to Khairy if Zahid was able to lead Umno to victories in states such as Melaka and Johor if the general and state polls are held separately, his prosepcts of being the next PM will become brighter.
He also noted that more political figures appear to have issues with Anwar than with Zahid.
“(Opposition leader) Hamzah Zainudin says his main problem is Muhyiddin Yassin, but he still has issues with Anwar.
“(Former economy minister) Rafizi Ramli definitely has a problem with Anwar, and PAS does not believe in an Anwar-led government.
“Many more people have issues with Anwar than they do with Zahid,” he said.
But on the ground, that assessment appears far from convincing.
According to an unnamed senior Umno leader says it is unlikely that Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will become Malaysia’s prime minister.
The source cited Zahid’s ongoing corruption trial as the main obstacle, saying it would create an awkward situation if his name were submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for consideration. Zahid is facing 47 charges involving money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and alleged bribery linked to Yayasan Akalbudi during his time as home minister.
The Umno source said voters are uneasy about the possibility of Zahid becoming PM, and that this perception could hurt BN’s electoral prospects. The source also stressed that any future prime minister must be acceptable not only to BN, but also to allies such as Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), and possibly PAS.
Given BN is unlikely to win enough seats to govern alone, the choice of prime minister would require broad coalition support. For these reasons, the source believes Zahid’s appointment as PM is difficult and unlikely.
Rather than Khairy, I have to say agree with the Umno source more.
I don't know what Khairy is seeing when he sees Zahid's prospects, but I certainly don't see it.
To be clear, Zahid becoming prime minister is not impossible. Malaysian politics has shown time and again that unlikely scenarios can materialise under extraordinary circumstances. However, for Zahid to ascend to the premiership under normal political conditions would signal that the country is in a deeply unstable place.
The issue is not merely about numbers in Parliament. It is about identification and legitimacy.
In politics, leadership rests on two broad pillars: identity and victory. A leader must embody something that people recognise in themselves, and must also be perceived as capable of delivering electoral success. When those two elements align, leadership becomes natural. People follow not only because they calculate benefits, but because they see themselves reflected in the individual at the top.
Zahid struggles on the first pillar.
It is not simply that many voters cannot identify with him. It is that some may actively resent identifying with him. Reputation, history, and political track record matter. Fair or not, these perceptions shape political viability.
Compare this with figures such as Muhyiddin Yassin, Hamzah Zainudin, Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah Anwar, or Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar. Each has flaws and critics. Yet supporters can point to struggles, political battles, setbacks, and moments of triumph that create a narrative arc. Voters may disagree with them, but they can understand their journeys.
Zahid’s political image however, is different. His critics argue that his leadership style has often appeared transactional and survival-driven. The perception — whether accurate or exaggerated — is that organisations or coalitions under his watch endure turbulence, while he himself emerges politically intact.
Within Umno, his continued presidency is frequently described less as enthusiastic endorsement and more as political resignation. Party members may accept his position as a practical reality, but acceptance is not the same as inspiration.
This matters because Malaysia’s next prime minister will almost certainly not come to office through overwhelming single-party dominance. The era of easy majorities is over. Any future prime minister must be acceptable not just to their own party, but to coalition partners across regional and ideological lines.
History provides examples.
When Umno, PAS and Bersatu struggled to agree on a dominant personality, Ismail Sabri Yaakob emerged as a compromise prime minister. He was viewed as a caretaker figure — someone acceptable, someone who could hold the seat without threatening internal balances of power.
Today, in the opposition bloc, Terengganu MB's Ahmad Samsuri’s elevation as a key figure follows a similar logic. Until leadership questions between component parties are resolved, a compromise personality offers stability.
Zahid does not fit that mould.
A compromise candidate must be someone stakeholders believe can step aside if necessary. Zahid, however, looks like a someone who is unlikely to step aside once he secures a position, and he is also seen as a politician that has both the will and the skill to consolidate and retain it. That makes him a difficult figure for rivals to trust as a temporary bridge.
Beyond party dynamics, there is the broader issue of public comfort. Leadership in Malaysia requires cross-ethnic and cross-regional acceptability. It is not enough to engineer a parliamentary majority; one must also secure social legitimacy. Without it, governance becomes fragile.
This is where Khairy’s assessment seems puzzling.
Perhaps he sees shifting alliances, fatigue within the unity government, or internal recalibrations within Umno. Perhaps he believes that political exhaustion among rivals could create space for a surprise return.
But barring extraordinary circumstances, Zahid’s pathway appears narrow.
Only an extreme political shock — something that dramatically reshuffles the entire leadership landscape — could plausibly create such an opening. Short of that, the structural barriers remain formidable: public perception, coalition arithmetic, and intra-party trust.
In Malaysian politics, surprises are always possible. Yet probability is another matter.
For now, the odds of Zahid becoming Malaysia’s next prime minister remain slim.
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