Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi has alleged that certain leaders within the Democratic Action Party (DAP) are attempting to manoeuvre Umno out of the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. According to Puad, these efforts are designed to pressure Umno from within while allowing DAP to distance itself from responsibility for any political fallout.
Puad argued that recent reactions from some DAP figures to the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision on 22 December 2025—which rejected Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application to serve the remainder of his reduced six-year prison sentence under house arrest—were part of a broader strategy to provoke Umno leaders and grassroots members. He suggested that the intention was to trigger internal calls for Umno to withdraw from the coalition government.
In Puad’s assessment, Umno is perceived by certain DAP leaders as an obstacle within the Cabinet to what he described as a wider ambition to steer Malaysia toward a more liberal political direction. He claimed that forcing Umno to leave the government voluntarily would allow DAP to avoid being portrayed as the party responsible for destabilising the ruling coalition. Puad further asserted that these leaders were confident the government would continue to command a majority even without Umno’s participation.
The Rengit state assemblyman also linked this perspective to the lack of conciliatory gestures following public reactions to the High Court ruling. He suggested that some DAP leaders were unlikely to retract or soften their responses to the decision involving Najib, as doing so would undermine the political narrative they were advancing.
The aftermath of the court ruling saw strong responses from multiple Umno leaders, including party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who criticised remarks made in the wake of the judgment. Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also expressed concern over the tone of those reactions, describing them as insensitive and questioning whether Umno should reassess its cooperation with partners who, in his view, failed to respect the party’s role within the unity government.
The controversy did not remain confined to Umno and DAP. Leaders from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Amanah Negara also weighed in, urging restraint and caution amid rising tensions within the coalition. Meanwhile, a former DAP parliamentarian publicly distanced himself from celebratory reactions, signalling that not all voices within the party shared the same approach.
Puad’s remarks underscore the fragile dynamics within the unity government as it navigates sensitive legal and political developments. His claims reflect broader concerns within Umno about its position in the coalition and the competing ideological directions among its partners, raising fresh questions about the durability of cooperation under Malaysia’s current political arrangement.
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