The smell of war in cabinet reshuffle
Tan Poh Kheng, Malay Mail Online
As widely anticipated, PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced his cabinet reshuffle that saw seven new ministers and nine new deputies.
But what drew more attention was the fact that five incumbent ministers were axed, including DPM cum education minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who has been highly vocal against the PM on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
What was more astounding was that AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was replaced outside his knowledge by former federal judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.
Although it had been rumored for quite some time that a cabinet reshuffle was imminent, it still came as a shocker that Najib was eventually determined to take out Muhyiddin in a show of utter desperation.
Since he lashed out his first criticisms on the 1MDB scandal, Muhyiddin had been hushed for quite some time before he hit out suddenly and forcefully again during Sunday’s Umno Cheras divisional meeting, arguing that the 1MDB issue had dealt a severe blow on the party while calling for thorough probe of the Wall Street Journal(WSJ) allegation that some US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) had been transferred to the PM’s personal bank accounts.
What he said has since turned into a lethal weapon to chop him off from the cabinet, making him the fourth DPM removed from office after Tun Musa Hitam, Tun Ghafar Baba and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It is obvious that the Malaysian politics is in for some unpredictable changes in the months to come.
Even though Najib twice reshuffled his cabinet after the 2013 general elections, the latest one saw the most dramatic changes, and his biggest move so far since he was first confronted by the crisis.
The 1MDB imbroglio, the US$700 million allegations from WSJ and the unrelenting pursuits from Tun Mahathir Mohamad have all conspired together to compel him into some drastic action.
With Muhyiddin increasingly defiant, it is normal that the relationship between the two top guys is deteriorating beyond repair.
As Najib has said, he removed Muhyiddin from office because their confrontation would eventually eat into public support for the government and party, and that the government must shun any discourse that could potentially affect government stability and party solidarity.
Muhyiddin’s dismissal is perceived as a powerful backlash from Najib against Mahathir’s forces.
As a matter of fact, Najib has attempted to consolidate its own influences in the party since the last party elections in a bid to redeploy his own people and weed out potential threats from party dissidents.
That said, the merciless removal of Muhyiddin and several cabinet ministers including Umno vice president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal could very likely plunge the party into an open showdown.
Muhyiddin, with his 45 years of experience in politics, and 20 years in the cabinet, has over the decades built up a formidable support base among the Umno grassroots. Any counterstrike and open tussle from his faction is most definitely not going to be a good thing for the party.
Najib should take cue from the fact that the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim by Mahathir almost crippled Umno, and if he fails to take full control of his party, he is in for yet another tacky problem on top of 1MDB and WSJ allegations.
Reshuffling the cabinet will not solve all the stubborn issues the country is facing, but will only create more ramifications and headaches for the government.
A member of the special task to probe 1MDB, Abdul Gani’s sudden departure is poised to bog down the progress of investigation.
Both 1MDB and the US$700 million scandal must eventually be handled in full transparency in order to fend off all sorts of hostile speculations that will crush the government’s integrity.
