After a year, the controversy surrounding the existence of the Addendum Decree by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which allowed former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence at home, has finally been unravelled.
However, this Addendum Decree controversy has significantly impacted the relationship between Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN), not only in terms of solidarity among party members but also in strengthening the cooperation within the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Former Penang BN Secretary Azizi Safar said despite the controversy over the confirmation of the Addendum Decree allegedly causing divisions within Umno, it has not significantly affected the status quo of support for Umno's leadership among its members.
Based on feedback from Umno grassroots, Azizi said that Umno’s leadership, particularly its President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Vice President Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail played a critical role as 'key witnesses' through their affidavits in confirming the existence of the Addendum Decree.
"Although Umno issued a last-minute directive preventing its members from participating in the Solidarity with Najib Rally on Jan 6, the party did not take a harsh stance against members and leaders who attended.
"Furthermore, the decision by the Court of Appeal panel on Monday does not indicate that Umno has abandoned Najib. Instead, the responsibility for this issue now falls on the parties within the unity government, particularly Anwar," he told Sinar.
Azizi also said that he was surprised to see among Umno grassroots, who seem to believe that Umno ministers in the unity government, especially the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said bear no responsibility for the confusion surrounding the Addendum Decree over the past year.
"I am confident that the status quo within Umno’s leadership will continue to enjoy grassroots support. However, the relationship between Umno and the parties in the unity government may be affected due to growing distrust and scepticism among Umno members towards Anwar," he said.
Similarly, Umno Veterans Secretary Datuk Mustapha Yaakub acknowledged that Monday's decision in Najib’s case proved that Zahid had never abandoned his ally, despite accusations of merely putting on a show and not firmly addressing the existence of the Addendum Decree.
Nevertheless, Mustapha admitted that Umno’s relationship with the unity government has entered a complicated phase, with the majority of grassroots members still questioning who conspired to conceal the Addendum Decree and the motives behind such actions.
"While we remain committed to the Umno President’s statement that the BN-PH cooperation will continue until the 16th General Election, I believe this Najib controversy could negatively impact the stability of the current government if the leadership fails to transparently clarify the issue," he said.