Fight club: Najib Razak’s Umno recruiting ‘bruisers’ in battle to regain control of Malaysia

A year on from Malaysia’s watershed general election, its new opposition forces are scattered and weak, a far cry from their previous power. But this may soon change if the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) succeeds in its unofficial rebranding, turning itself from a party led by blue-blooded elites into one helmed by rough and tumble grass-roots leaders.

Scooping only 54 of 222 parliamentary seats, the Malay party soon faced a series of hurdles including defections, leadership issues, and charges against several members over corruption – the most prominent of which was former premier Najib Razak, who is facing more than 40 charges related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad global financial scandal.

But a year on, the opposition is making steps towards recovery.

With a new acting president – veteran politician Mohamad Hasan – and a host of new faces leading the charge, Umno’s racial rhetoric seems to be gaining ground in the Malay heartland, with the opposition winning three recent by-elections. It has teamed up with long-time foe the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to better court the country’s majority Malay-Muslim population – its biggest vote bank.

Among those leading the charge is Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam, a self-styled “fighter” who warns that Pakatan Harapan policies threaten to leave the Malays behind.

The party now, he says, needs bruisers ready to push the agenda and call out the government.