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By Mihar Dias October 2025
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has spoken again — this time not about court cases or coalition arithmetic, but about sincerity. Malay Mail
Yes, sincerity — that elusive virtue rarely sighted in politics, now championed by the Umno president as the key to uniting Malay-based parties.
One almost expects violins to start playing in the background as he declares that Malay unity must be guided by “honesty, not opportunism or personal gain.” Malay Mail
That’s a noble thought, of course — if it didn’t come from the same party that spent decades cornering the market on Malay unity and treating rivals as unworthy step-siblings.
Zahid’s latest call sounds less like a statesman’s vision and more like a clearance sale for lost allies: “Unity, slightly used, terms negotiable.”
He reminisced about Muafakat Nasional, the grand 2019 pact between Umno and PAS that promised everlasting brotherhood until PAS decided Bersatu was the better-looking partner. Zahid now calls it betrayal. Malay Mail
Malaysians might simply call it déjà vu — the endless cycle of marriages, divorces, and remarriages that pass for political strategy.
With a straight face, Zahid insists Umno is ready to cooperate with all parties “for the sake of the country” and “the foundation of Islam and the Malays.” Malay Mail
Translation: if it helps Umno stay relevant, even former enemies can be recast as sincere friends. PKR? Sure. DAP? Why not, as long as the grassroots don’t riot too loudly.
But the question remains: unity for whom? For the Malays, or for politicians who need each other to survive the next election?
Zahid’s sermon about sincerity would be more convincing if it weren’t being preached from a pulpit built on decades of calculated alliances and political bargains.
It’s easy to talk about honesty when everyone’s jockeying for position in the next coalition. It’s like asking a fox to teach a course on chicken safety — admirable, perhaps, but not entirely believable.
Still, Zahid promises to keep the “unity government” together until the next general election. In Malaysian politics, that’s roughly equivalent to saying: “We’ll stay loyal until the numbers change.”
If politics had an honesty meter, the needle would be trembling somewhere between “wishful thinking” and “public relations exercise.”
But credit where it’s due — Zahid’s sermon on sincerity is a fine piece of drama.
As long as voters keep applauding, perhaps that’s the only sincerity that truly matters.
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