KUALA LUMPUR – A Unity Government retreat this weekend is expected to chart the next two years of this present administration and determine if its partners – particularly Umno and Pakatan Harapan (PH) – will go into the next general election together.
A contentious point is the current manifesto and reform agenda of PH, which is not aligned with Umno’s.
“The separation of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor’s office and the two-term limit for the Prime Minister is not something that Umno agrees to,” said an Umno leader.
“This was PH’s manifesto, not Umno’s,” he told Scoop.
Ironically, the minister spearheading the implementation of these reforms is Umno’s Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said – the present Minister of Law and Institutional Reform (under the Prime Minister’s Department).
Incidentally, Azalina was among the persuasive voices who convinced her Umno colleagues to partner PH to form the current government following the 2022 general elections, when no one party managed to win a simple majority.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are expected to play mediator between Umno and DAP at the retreat, following public spats between their two leaders over the High Court’s dismissal of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest application.
DAP’s attempt at resurrecting the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC) debate was also a point of friction.
The timing of the issue came into question following DAP’s loss in the Sabah state elections, where all its eight candidates, including incumbents, were wiped out.
Umno called it opportunistic and accused DAP of showing its true colours as a Chinese party.
Cost of living issues and the cost of doing business are going to be heavily discussed. Scaling back the rollout and ceiling on E-Invoicing recently was seen as reactionary to public criticisms, which manifested in the Sabah elections where PH did poorly.
At the heart of the matter, of course, are the governance issues which envelop the reform agenda.
Zahid’s escape from 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in the Yayasan Akalbudi case yesterday is bound to be the elephant in the room during the retreat.
Meanwhile, it is not lost on the coalition partners that side chats are being held by senior party members with their counterparts from the opposing side, including the likes of Bersatu and PAS. Umno Youth Chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh had openly called for Umno to part ways with PH and work with PAS – resurrecting the Muafakat Nasional Malay-led agenda.
While these calls and talks are not mandated, they are necessary to keep ties warm for any future cooperation.
“This weekend we will come out stronger and more resolved to go into the elections together,” said a PH leader.
“All partners have issues. Even within PH there are issues that need ironing out, so what more in a Unity partnership with former foes,” he said.
The friction is not expected to close anytime soon, but this motley crew of strange bedfellows are expected to find common ground to move forward in the interest of self-preservation.
This is especially so in light of the growing influence of PAS, which is emerging as the leader of Perikatan Nasional following the turmoil in Bersatu, as well as Sarawak’s growing rhetoric of independence and autonomy that can make it a kingmaker. – January 9, 2026