Muhyiddin’s ‘sack 1MDB’ remark stole Najib’s 11MP show, ex-minister says
(Malay Mail Online) – Malaysians were meant to focus yesterday on Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s unveiling of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) but it was the leaked video showing his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ripping into 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that stole the limelight, a former Umno minister observed.
Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin said the incident now makes it more difficult for Najib to prove his claim that he has the backing of Umno leaders and the prime minister could lose further sway in the ruling party and Malaysians in general.
“Muhyiddin remarks, although made privately, but a video of it was leaked the same time as the 11MP announcement by Najib in the Dewan Rakyat. It became viral and stole the public’s attention from the 11MP,” the former minister wrote in his blog.
“Therefore, Najib can no longer maintain public confidence in his claim to have the support of his party and the people.
“Muhyiddin’s remarks proves that Umno is not united to face Dr Mahathir’s attacks, 1MDB and the current political and economic crisis,” he added, referring to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been at the forefront in the attacks against 1MDB and Najib’s leadership.
Yesterday, a video of Muhyiddin saying the government should sack the entire board of debt-laden 1MDB or face being booted from power was uploaded on a blog called APANAMA.
“What do you do? Buang lah (remove lah). The CEO, buang. And not just remove, call the police to investigate, take action.
“The the rakyat will see, ‘haa, now the government leadership is taking responsibility, taking serious action’,” he said in the seven minute and four second clip.
The video was shot about a week ago at an Umno training session in Janda Baik, Pahang sometime after the last Umno Supreme Council meeting, according to Firdaus Abdullah who runs the blog.
He, however, could not say who shot the video nor did he have any other details of the event where it was recorded.
After the unveiling of the 11MP, Muhyiddin explained to reporters that his remarks in the video were his personal opinion on the topic and were nothing new as he had made his position known before.
But Zainuddin said today that the entire episode should not be trivialised, particularly as Muhyiddin has great influence in Umno.
He urged for an emergency Umno meeting to discuss the episode and decide if Muhyiddin should face action for his remarks.
The meeting should also be held to confirm if Najib still has the backing of Umno’s supreme council, Zainuddin said.
“If Muhyiddin is not sacked, then a solution must be found to ensure Umno stays united if either Muhyiddin or Najib is forced to leave,” he said.
Najib has been under pressure of late over his handling of the 1MDB fiasco, with his predecessor Dr Mahathir openly demanding that he step down for allowing the fund to accumulate some RM42 billion in debt to date from the time it was incorporated in 2009.
Most recently the fund was pilloried after the Finance Ministry ― which Najib also heads ― declared that the US$1.103 billion (RM3.91 billion) that 1MDB redeemed from its offshore account in the Cayman Islands into a Singaporean bank is not in actual cash but assets.
This added to public anger over an expose on RM188.5 million paid to 1MDB by pilgrimage fund Lembaga Tabung Haji for 1.5 acres in the Tun Razak Exchange, and also some RM3 billion invested by the Employees Provident Fund and Retirement Fund Inc in the controversial fund.
