YOURSAY | The strange love affair between Umno and PN

YOURSAY | It is like saying, 'I divorce you, but still want to remain your spouse.'

Zahid: Umno will not join PN coalition but be still part of govt

Fair Play: Politically, I think Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (above) has played his last card. And no doubt, he is shivering too, now that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has been convicted of all the seven charges.

Zahid himself is facing a total of 87 charges involving criminal breach of trust, money laundering and bribery. So, his position is no better than that of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, except that his trial is still ongoing.

Furthermore, Umno has weakened considerably, with the rumours going around of four separate camps within the party. As the president, Zahid is likely a dead man walking.

So, in reality, Zahid has no choice but to cling to PAS while he still can. But party deputy president Mohamad Hasan is waiting in the wing, ready to pounce anytime.

Zahid has been made aware that his olive branch offer to the rebels within Bersatu and PKR is not tantamount to a freedom-guaranteed future for either himself or his ex-boss.

His statement, laced with bitterness, is also a mild threat to the lords of Perikatan Nasional (PN) that Umno would not necessarily always have their backs.

I suppose courage and basic sensibilities do surface, the more apparent one's imminent downfall becomes. Over to you, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Oriole: Are these the actions of a desperate man co-opting a party into his personal struggles with the law?

What are the underlying messages here and to what extent has this been affected by the Najib Abdul Razak verdict? Is this a sort of political blackmail to put pressure on the PM to ensure that the upcoming court cases swing in their (Najib’s and Zahid’s) favour?

And is Umno going along with the personal agenda of unscrupulous schemes of desperate men who are basically crooks and whose times are up? If so, man up Umno, you have already discredited yourself with your previous silence.

Gerard Lourdesamy: So what government is this? Was the Agong misled?

By refusing to join PN, what Umno is saying is that it is free to decide in Parliament. At present, Umno is "temporarily" backing Muhyiddin as PM.

If Umno has any "maruah" (dignity) left, it should go back to the voters and ask them to decide.

I am appalled that a party that has 3.5 million members with 39 MPs is afraid of a mosquito party like Bersatu and wants to live in its shadow.

If Umno pulls out of backing Muhyiddin, and Pakatan Harapan Plus refuses to back Muhyiddin, a snap general election is the only way out of the impasse. I am certain that Umno/PAS will ‘win’ it handsomely.

The Middle Man: When you have strange bedfellows sleeping together, it always produces weird outcomes.

The first encounter always provides thrills and ecstasy. While in the throes of this love affair, each party begins to see the other’s weakness and ugliness. This is when the affair cools and starts to drop down to earth.

As reality strikes, one or the other starts to wonder how are they going to break the relationship without messing themselves up?

As the relationship sours into the classic “blame you, not me” phase, the question will arise is that “who will go to heaven and/or who will end up in hell?”

Come to think of it, isn't politics a strange love affair?

GreenLeopard4021: Umno pulled out from PN, but still wants to be in PN's government. This is just like saying, "I divorce you, but still want to remain your spouse."

Is this the joke of the century? Resigning from all government posts will be the honourable thing to do.

Weird Weirder: Since Bersatu says they were "invited" and Umno says Bersatu "requested" to be in, someone is definitely lying and trying to sound like they are in a winning, rather than a losing position.

Given that Sabah is going into snap polls, it won’t be long until Umno forces PN to call for GE15.

Majority Must Safeguard Minority Rights: What on earth is Zahid saying? Do you want a general election or not? Don’t beat around the bush.

If you have the courage, then call for snap elections. If you don’t, then just keep your gap shut.

RZee: We are getting used to our leaders playing musical chairs. Analysts have propounded on understanding the nature of the Malaysian psyche.

Is this it? Playing musical chairs with the people’s vote? Good luck to Malaysia.

TC Chan: Muhyiddin is now officially a lame-duck PM. Umno has him by the throat.

Now Muhyiddin wants to join Muafakat Nasional, which means he will be the junior partner and may have to give up the jewel to Umno as it has more seats.

Muhyiddin should take a leaf from Sabah and dissolve Parliament.

GajahDuduk: Talk about a non-event.

Zahid says he's leaving Club A because Club B is better. But Club A and Club B have identical membership, and he will continue to support Club A in government. So he really hasn't left Club A.

So nothing happens. Yawn. I am going back to sleep.

Darmakochi: Zahid, I am sure you know the meaning of the expression 'eating the cake and keeping it too'!

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 500,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.