UMNO Infighting Intensifies, Party Leaders Wrestle Over Support For PM Muhyiddin

Several Malaysian media outlets reported that a limited number of highest-profile leaders of UMNO have held a secret meeting in Kuala Lumpur last night to discuss the proposal of withdrawing support for PM Muhyiddin's government. The meeting took place in a military-owned property and lasted four hours.

• Among the attendees was UMNO President Zahid, who proposed leaving the government last week and has been lobbying UMNO members to back the idea. Zahid and ex-PM Najib Razak were said to be meeting with UMNO Supreme Council members earlier in the day.
• According to Malaysia Star, the meeting was organised by Defence Minister Ismael Sabri, the party's most senior figure in the cabinet, who has been in charge of coordinating the implementation of Covid-19 restrictions. One source speaking with Malaysia Star noted that "members attending the meeting did not agree" with Zahid's proposal.
• The Straits Times spoke with sources from within UMNO, who suggested that most of the Supreme Council supports Zahid's and Najib's push for severing ties with PM Muhyidin, but a "lion's share" of the party's 38 MPs prefer maintaining the status quo until the next election.
• Several UMNO lawmakers called upon party leadership to uphold the decision of the General Assembly to maintain support for the cabinet until the next federal election. The party's election director noted that the GM had given the Supreme Council a mandate to decide, but "that did not mean the Council could do as it pleased".
• This occurs just after PM Muhyiddin agreed to reopen parliament by the end of this month. Internal frictions within UMNO continue to simmer nonetheless, underscoring the fragility of PM Muhyiddin's cabinet, whose survival hinges on the support of UMNO MPs and could be ended by a defection of just 4 of them.