No strong contender to challenge Zahid for Umno presidency, says experts

SHAH ALAM - Nobody is strong enough to challenge Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for the presidency post in the upcoming party polls.

Political analyst Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood said he does not see any good contenders to challenge or replace Zahid as party president.

However, he also named a few senior leaders that could try their luck out.

The International Islamic University Malaysia lecturer named Umno Vice-President Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

“I can't really see a good contender, it could be Ismail Sabri, Hishammuddin or Khairy.

“Other than those three, I don’t think anyone can go up against Zahid, not even Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan," he told Sinar Daily. Echoing similar sentiments, Merdeka Centre programme director Ibrahim Suffian also stated that it was still unclear who go against Zahid.

He said there has been rumours that Hishammuddin had the chance to go against Zahid but it was still ambiguous at this point.

“Some rumours have been afloat about the possibility of Hishammuddin (as a contender) but it is not clear at this point. “Additionally, there is a likelihood that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) may pass a resolution that the top two posts - president and deputy president, will not be contested thus preserving Zahid’s position.

“This would led some sense of stability to the unity of the government,” he said.

The Umno AGM has been rescheduled for Jan 11-14 following the party secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan announcement on Dec 5.

The assembly was originally scheduled for Dec 21-24.