UMNO AGM Surrounded by an ambience of fear, the Umno annual general meeting (AGM) finally got under way, despite rebels' attempts to launch a preemptive strike against it.

All signs from the AGM point to one conclusion – that party president Najib Abdul Razak still has a firm grip on Umno.

From the debates in the hall of the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) to leaders' comments outside, the Umno AGM has created a strong impression that party members are all fully backing Najib and isolating the dissenters.

From the grassroots members to the top leadership, there were strident calls for unity amidst warnings of external threats to undermine the party.

They all played the unity card to send a loud and clear message – that Umno has only one boss, and anyone who disagrees should just leave the party.

Najib launched the first strike when he delivered his presidential address in the presence of more than 2,000 delegates nationwide.

In the course of his lengthy speech, he cited the Umno constitution and history to remind the likes of Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy president, of their role – which is to assist the president.

Taking a swipe at Muhyiddin

Then Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Muhyiddin's replacement as deputy prime minister, strode to the stage and took a swipe at Muhyiddin for breaking party tradition by holding an assembly outside the AGM, and hinting that a purge is on the cards.

While the debates at the Umno wing meetings – Youth, Wanita and Puteri – were partly broadcast, the Umno AGM yesterday started off with a full live broadcast. This indicates that those in power are confident that there will be no troubles to spoil the day.

To prevent any possible blacklash from grassroots members at the AGM, it is believed that Najib took the risk to sack Muhyiddin from the cabinet.

With tight control on the party, Najib has ensured that Muhyiddin and veteran leaders like Dr Mahathir Mohamad have no means of retaliating at the general assembly.

Being barred from speaking at the AGM, all Muhyiddin ( photo ) could do was to sit back and moan. After listening to Najib's speech in the morning, he was absent for the rest of the day.

As for Mahathir, the nonagenarian left PWTC after taking a parting shot at Najib, and then continuing his salvoes at another venue.

All the delegates who participated in the debate declared their full support for the current leadership, and every time "Najib" was mentioned, it was greeted with thunderous applause.

Even a delegate from Johor, Muhyiddin's political stronghold, made it clear that Umno has only one admiral, namely, Najib.

"Surely, he will be an admiral who can command respect from his crew.

"We have only one admiral, not two,” Hassan Johari said.

A representative from Malacca, Mustafa Musa, also called for unity, warning that Malays would be pariah (terbangsat) in their motherland if there was disunity.

Singing unity song

Without mentioning names, a delegate, Mustapa Kamal Mohd Yusof, criticised Muhyiddin's camp for conducting nationwide "anti-Najib" roadshows.

"I know people on the stage are playing ( main wayang ). We have identified one or two persons (doing so).

"They should not go to the divisions and talk this and that to pursue their agenda," he said.

Penang delegate Musa Sheikh Fadzir also sang the unity song. He urged the current leadership to hug and make up and asked Mahathir to stop attacking Najib.

However, Musa stressed that if certain people continued to create troubles, Umno should take action against them.

Against a tide of support for Najib, the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion scandals, which were supposed to be the focal issues in the AGM, were relegated to the background.

Najib only briefly mentioned the twin issues in passing, and the delegates, perhaps taking the cue, did not touch these hot potatoes.

Only one participant, Musa Sheikh Fadzir, raised the RM2.6 billion issue. But he was not critical of Najib. He told the delegates that if Najib's aim to seek fund is for the benefit of the party, then they (delegates) should not ask for the source of the funding.

The Umno AGM, which began on Tuesday, gave positive indications that Najib is expected to pass a crucial test of his leadership, provided there are no unexpected changes in the party and the rebels don't make some significant moves.

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