The loud applause that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak received when he announced that the Sedition Act 1948 would be retained would be his last breath, according to former information minister Zainuddin Maidin.

He warned that a quiet revolution is under way in Umno, and the applause he received was not a show of support, but a release of pent-up emotions and a rejection of his “weak and liberal leadership”.

“If he had not made the announcement,” he said, “all of Umno’s members would bury him and the future of Umno would surely be crushed.

“The applause is not a show of support, but an explosion of pent-up feelings mixed with anger, protest, rejection, and lost confidence. A revolution festers like a fire smouldering in husks.

“Najib’s respite this time, would be his last breath,” Zainuddin ( left )  wrote in his blog today, after previously predicting that Najib would reverse his stance on the Sedition Act hours before the announcement.

Yesterday, Najib, who is also the Umno president, received a standing ovation from delegates at the Umno general assembly, after he announced that the Sedition Act would be retained with amendments to protect religions from insult, and to criminalise urging for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

This reverses pledges he had made on several occasions since 2012 that the draconian law would be repealed, after he came under pressure from right-wing groups to retain it.

Now that he has promised to retain the law, Zainuddin said Najib needs to back these words with deeds to restore the confidence of Umno members.

“This position is not solid because he is seen as a flip-flop leader, who bends to the wind, who has no stand, no principle, and whose leadership is weak.

“That is the view of the delegates he is facing,” he said.

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