After Najib axes Muhyiddin, Johor leaders fear hammer to fall on Umno birthplace in GE14
(MMO) – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s unceremonious ejection from Cabinet has created a deep schism within Umno which must be fixed soon or it will bite into the Malay ruling party’s southern power base at the next general elections due 2018, Johor leaders have warned.
The state party chiefs believe that the attacks by some division leaders against Muhyiddin following the Muar-born’s demand for an explanation from Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over his controversial 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) brainchild to be unwarranted.
Labis Umno Youth chief Mohd Shahir Hudin Ali disclosed that Muhyiddin’s removal as deputy prime minister was not well-received as the 68-year-old still commands sizeable grassroots support in his home state of Johor, which also happens to be the birthplace of the country’s biggest political party with over three million members.
“The feedback so far is that this issue will affect our chances in the next general election. When I had a meeting about this with Umno Youth branch leaders, the feedback about the Cabinet reshuffle was resoundingly negative, tensions were high,” Mohd Shahir told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
Johor’s Labis Umno Youth division has since urged Pahang-born Najib to go on leave to ensure that a special taskforce probe on 1MDB is executed in a professional manner.
In a July 30 statement, the Labis Youth division said that this was crucial as the public no longer trusted the task force after the recent Cabinet reshuffle and Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s equally abrupt removal as Attorney-General.
