Will Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak drop his rebellious number two Muhyiddin Yassin when the much speculated cabinet reshuffle takes place?
According to University of Tasmania Asia Institute director James Chin, it would not be an easy task to remove the Umno deputy president, who has been a cabinet minister for two decades.
Chin said the prime minister must tread carefully to ensure that the backlash can be contained.
"A cabinet reshuffle will be done this year and Najib must be 100 percent certain he can kick Muhyiddin out without any blowback - if he wants to dump the number two," he said, citing former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as an example.
"When Mahathir wanted to drop (then deputy prime ministers) Musa Hitam and Ghafar Baba, they wanted to go.
"However, when he sacked Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir nearly lost control of Umno. So, it is not simple for Najib if he wants to replace Muhyiddin," he told Malaysiakini.
Chin said Najib must seek a candidate who would be able to control Muhyiddin's supporters and the person for this task could be Umno vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The analyst was responding to Muhyiddin's scathing speech at the Cheras Umno meeting yesterday, where he spoke about how the 1MDB issue was damaging the ruling party.
However, Chin said Muhyiddin's remarks cannot be construed as asking Najib to step down.
"It is too early to tell, since Muhyiddin basically said the same thing several weeks ago, that Najib must tell all and 1MDB must come clean.
"If Najib goes, Muhyiddin would be the one to move up. The problem is who will replace Muhyiddin for the number two spot," he added.
In his speech to the Cheras Umno division delegates last night, Muhyiddin reminded the audience that he was not trying to oust Najib.
"This is why I rarely speak outside the party, because others might misinterpret my statement and say 'oh, this is a plot to topple the PM'," the deputy prime minister said.
Suspension 'unintended sabotage'
Sharing Chin's thoughts on the same issue, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) head Wan Saiful Wan Jan noted how the three-month suspension of two publications under the The Edge appeared to be an "unintended sabotage" of Najib's reputation.
"It (the suspension) may have been done by (Home Minister) Ahmad Zahid but because of the circumstances, all eyes are immediately on Najib.
"While Najib should provide the answer (on the allegations plaguing 1MDB), he also needs to instruct the home minister to revoke the suspension," Wan Saiful (photo) told Malaysiakini.
He said the government should take legal action against The Edge if it felt the media group's publications had committed wrongdoings.
As for Muhyiddin's speech, the Ideas chief described it as a "damning statement".
"Unfortunately for Najib, Muhyiddin might be right on all counts. In any case, Najib needs to take Muhyiddin's comments seriously.
"He (Najib) needs to provide answers on the allegations," Wan Saiful added.
Muhyiddin's tirade played down
In a related development, former minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Zaid Ibrahim in a blog posting played down Muhyiddin's latest tirade against Najib and 1MDB.
He said it was not a sign of a possible rebellion in Umno against corrupt leaders.
“Most likely it’s an opportunity for Muhyiddin to take the throne himself and nothing about cleaning up the country.”
Zaid disclosed that political observers had told him that Najib will be arrested soon, something that not happened in Malaysia where the police issue a warrant of arrest against a PM.
“But it is something that we cannot rule out. If Najib did receive cash from the Cayman Islands, Singapore and elsewhere as alleged (in the 1MDB fiasco), then there are many criminal charges that could be levied against him.
“I am inclined to think that Muhyiddin’s latest outburst is to vent his frustration at being replaced. He will get the sack, and a few more of his allies in the government will follow suit,” the former Umno division leader reckoned.
Implosion
Describing this would be good for the country, Zaid said any implosion in Umno will allow the opposition to have a go at them during the next election.
He said PAS is already cracking under the weight of the new Gerakan Harapan Baru, and if its allies Umno also suffer a similar fate, then the forces of good will be strong enough to overcome evil.
“Regardless of whether Najib is arrested or Muhyiddin sacked, or both events happening; Malaysians must all support the leaders of GHB.
“They are not merely a splinter group, but represent the new mainstream. They are moderate and sensible.
“Because they are Malay-Muslims, they will be strong enough to counter Malay-Muslim extremists in PAS and Umno, who will tip the country further into chaos if they are allowed to continue to rule,” he warned, urging all should unite within a larger grouping of GHB, DAP and PKR. - M'kini
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