Umno opposition to Anwar gathers momentum after Ku Li's call to resign over addendum fiasco

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's cooperation with Umno faces its biggest threat since forming government two years ago, with pressure mounting within the party for him to take responsibility and resign over the royal addendum fiasco related to the pardon granted to jailed leader Najib Razak.

This comes as the party's own adviser Tengku Razalegh Hamzah set the ball rolling by openly calling on Anwar to resign, through a statement issued by his Gua Musang Umno division yesterday.

At least two Umno MPs who wish to remain anonymous said there was a "real and present danger" if the party leadership, which is aligned to its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, ignored Razaleigh's demand.

"It takes weeks and months for others to plot our downfall, but let me tell you, it only takes a few hours for the whole thing to collapse like a pack of cards," said a prominent Umno leader, an MP from a southern state.

He did not give details of the "others" that he was referring to.

In its statement, the Gua Musang Umno division accused Anwar and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution of lying to MPs in the Dewan Rakyat for denying the existence of the addendum issued last year by former Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, calling for Najib to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.

"The prime minister must take full responsibility for the fiasco. Although Umno is in coalition with the government today, it strictly adheres to the principles and constitution of the country as well as the party constitution," it said, citing a provision in the Umno constitution that stipulates undivided loyalty to Malay rulers.

The statement immediately gained the support of Umno student organisations across the country, where the party's clubs in at least 11 public universities accused the prime minister of concealing the addendum, calling it a criminal offence that "should not be tolerated".

"We deplore the actions of the prime minister and relevant parties who seem to be denying the existence of the decree in the Dewan Rakyat," UmnoSiswa said in a statement.

"This non-transparent attitude violates the principle of integrity and can be considered a betrayal of the people's mandate and the country's constitution."

On Jan 5, the Court of Appeal granted Najib's application for a judicial review of the Supreme Court's decision on his request to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Anwar had repeatedly brushed aside claims about the existence of the addendum, and said the matter would only be decided by the court, which is seen as an attempt to distance himself from any decision on the matter.

Just three weeks before the appeals court decision, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that any directive on the pardon could not be implemented due to the changing of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong early this year.

"Why did we not act? Because the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been replaced. Any action we take must go back to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he had said.

However, after the Jan 5 ruling, Anwar made a startling confession that he knew of the existence of the decree, raising questions on why his government refused to do so earlier.

He then revealed that Najib's request for a pardon was raised by him personally in the Pardons Board, a claim that is likely to land him in further dilemma with his partners in Pakatan Harapan, particularly the DAP, the largest party in the coalition government, which has made Najib's involvement in the 1MDB scandal a key campaign issue in the last two general elections.

Najib was fined RM210 million and sentenced to 12 years in jail for criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering over charges of embezzling RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Since he began his prison sentence on Aug 23, 2022, Umno leaders have been lobbying for a royal pardon like the one granted to Anwar which allowed the PKR leader's release from prison in 2018 where he had been serving time for sodomy and lifted his ban from active politics.

Calls for a royal pardon grew after Zahid brought his Umno MPs to join forces with PH as Najib loyalists, who still hold great influence in the party, felt that Anwar should reward Umno for supporting PH and enabling him to fulfil his prime ministerial ambitions.

After months of speculation and pressure on the government, the Pardons Board announced that Najib's prison sentence would be reduced to six years and his fine to RM50 million which, if paid,would get him another year off.