Umno Spares Just Don T Rock The Boat Now

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Prince Harry took it all out on his family in his memoir, Spare, launched on Jan 10. Rightly or wrongly and for whatever reason he did it, it’s not my place to judge him – let the Brits examine their prince’s actions and conscience.
The book has been described as one of the weirdest, most thrilling and most heartbreaking revelations.
In a nutshell, the Duke of Sussex and the younger son of King Charles III detailed in his memoir how he was considered a “spare” in the Royal Family and that he and his wife suffered humiliation and were trampled upon by certain powerful persons in the royal household.
Prince Harry (above, with his wife Meghan) called the book Spare because he was a spare and his elder brother, Prince William, was the Number One. Nobody wants to be considered a “spare” – not Harry, not you, not me and certainly not the many ambitious (and overly ambitious) politicians in our midst.
A spare is unimportant and can be dispensed of. A spare is kept in reserve, especially for emergency use as it is more than is needed, desired or required.
There are some prominent “spares” in Umno today and not surprisingly, they are a discontented and unhappy lot in the party.
While I would not judge Prince Harry in his dispute with his family, I think I reserve my right to say my piece on what’s happening in Umno today.
I consider myself a concerned citizen and I do want this new government to succeed and remain in office for the duration of its five-year term. I think it’s time to move on and allow this unity government, imperfect as it might be, to run its course. At least for one, this is not a backdoor government.
Umno is an important partner in the Anwar Ibrahim administration and it is for this reason that I’m expressing my concerns over developments in Umno. The party, as the backbone of the Barisan Nasional coalition, must remain stable for Anwar to steer the nation in peace and quiet.
Prime Minister Anwar IbrahimA prime minister, worrying day and night about the stability of his government, will not be able to perform. No matter how experienced Anwar might be, he is also human with weaknesses and failings.  
The three top “spares” in Umno today are Khairy Jamaluddin, Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Hishammuddin Hussein. All three are very ambitious politicians and each has some degree of influence in Umno.
(I refrain from including Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the list of Umno spares as I believe the Umno veteran understands his position today following his GE15 defeat in Gua Musang.) 
Trio at loggerheads with Zahid 
The trio - Khairy, Ismail Sabri and Hishammuddin - are at loggerheads with their party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and this issue, if unresolved, could unsettle the unity government in which Zahid serves as deputy prime minister.
Of the trio with an axe to grind against their president, Khairy stood out as the most vocal “anti-Zahid” element. No longer a minister and not even an MP today, perhaps Khairy has all the time in the world now to play politics. And he is ever ready to take on Zahid and his deputy, Mohamad Hasan, whenever the opportunity arises.
Let’s not pretend. Politics is also personal. Khairy would find it difficult to forgive Mat Hasan for driving him out of Rembau to Sungai Buloh in last November’s election. Understandably so.
Khairy JamaluddinIn all fairness, Khairy is an effective administrator. We credit him for carrying out his duties well during his tenure as the health minister.
Now, I would like to ask Khairy to act responsibly too, if he wishes to maintain the goodwill and respect of the public.
Yes, Khairy has every right to challenge the decisions of the Umno supreme council if he is unhappy with them - but he should also know when to stop.
I will describe Khairy’s salvos against his party bosses over the past two weeks as “moans, groans and whining” of a defeated, dejected man wallowing in self-pity.
Is Khairy the best to lead Umno?
Khairy probably thinks that the party has treated him badly and that is why he is fighting back.
Let me pose these questions: Is Khairy the best man to lead Umno today? How do we know that he will make a better party president than Zahid or Mat Hasan? Or will Ismail Sabri or Hishammuddin perform better as DPM than Zahid?
To many, the answers will be clouded in uncertainties. However, let me say this. Khairy’s behaviour over the past weeks put me off.
I expect more from a man who aspires to be prime minister. Moaning and whining will not win political battles or public respect. Keep that in mind, Khairy.
Khairy should never forget one thing. He lost to Zahid for the Umno presidency in 2018. Zahid is the president and in charge of the party, not anyone else. Khairy must accept that Zahid and Mat Hasan are his party bosses. He has to live with that.
Meanwhile, I don’t think it is necessary for Umno to take any disciplinary action against Khairy, as reported yesterday. Perhaps it’s better and wiser to allow him to continue sulking. Khairy is a “dead horse” with no position or power today. Why flog a dead horse?  
That said, Khairy will be a definite asset to Umno in future. He has to be patient, cool down and await his turn.
Former prime minister Ismail Sabri YaakobAlthough Ismail Sabri disagreed with the party’s no-contest for the top two posts resolution, he acted more sensibly, choosing to let the Registrar of Societies decide on the issue and visiting the king for a tete-a-tete on the nation’s affairs.    
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin has kept an eerie silence over recent developments in Umno except to say that he was prepared to accept any action by the party for unilaterally supporting Muhyiddin as the prime minister after GE15 last November.
Whatever it is, Malaysians are hoping that the Umno spares would accept their positions today and not rock the boat in the party.
Being seasoned politicians that they are, they should know that an unstable Umno/BN will be unsettling and detrimental to the unity government, which many are hoping will succeed for the sake of all Malaysians.  
Malaysia is bigger and more important than any politician or any party. Let us not forget that. - Mkini
 FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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