KUALA LUMPUR – The clock is ticking for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, whose position as prime minister is on the line after Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub withdrew support for him and Perikatan Nasional on Saturday.
As it stands, Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu chairman, now has the support of just 110 MPs, out of 220 – Gua Musang MP and Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah abstained from Budget 2021 voting late last year.
In a desperate bid to hold on to power, Muhyiddin is now speculated to appoint a deputy prime minister from Umno – Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein are among the names brought up.
Yesterday, Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz hinted that he would be among many Umno MPs anticipated to withdraw support for Muhyiddin in the coming days.
He said Jazlan’s decision to pull his backing had “opened the floodgates” in Umno and would trigger a chain reaction.
This, several sources said, is Muhyiddin’s way to push a wedge in Umno – the largest Malay party in the country – and get as many Umno MPs on his side, especially when a general election is looming.
Several party insiders told The Vibes that an announcement can be expected soon, as more Umno lawmakers are expected to join Jazlan and withdraw support for Muhyiddin in the coming days.
A senior Umno leader, who declined to be named, said Muhyiddin is especially keen to garner support of Umno MPs who have been given government positions.
“Part of Muhyiddin’s strategy to ‘kill’ Umno is to bring its MPs over to Bersatu or to get their support in Parliament.
“Other than Ismail Sabri, those he has courted are said to include (Federal Territories Minister) Tan Sri Annuar Musa and (Higher Education Minister) Datuk Noraini Ahmad,” he said today, adding that Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is also among those courted.
Annuar was sacked as Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general last week and replaced by Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, as the former is seen to be adamant in defending the PN administration and defended Muhyiddin’s position as prime minister on several occasions
The source was commenting on reports that Muhyiddin is expected to name either Ismail Sabri, who is Umno vice-president, or Hishammuddin, who is foreign minister, as the deputy prime minister to shore up the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
The reports said that Muhyiddin is hoping the appointment will put an end to Umno defections from PN and resolve lingering issues in the coalition.
However, an Umno veteran said it is more likely that Muhyiddin’s intention is to cause an internal rift in the party, with the Pagoh MP believed to still be angered by his sacking back in 2015 after he spoke out against the party leadership over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.
On the choice of deputy prime minister, the source said Hishammuddin appears to be Muhyiddin’s top pick as he is believed to command the support of about 20 Umno MPs.
“Hishammuddin’s name has been bandied about for the past few months,” he said.
“In any case, if either Hishammuddin or Ismail Sabri is appointed, this will put paid to Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s political ambition. The engineer of the Sheraton Move seems to have lost the support of Muhyiddin due to dwindling popularity in PN.”
While Hishammuddin’s name has been mentioned as a possible deputy prime minister candidate for months, Ismail Sabri’s rumoured candidature is only now being considered.
Last year, it was reported that Muhyiddin was considering Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan for the post.
However, as Mohamad is not an MP, he will have to be first sworn in as a senator before he can be appointed deputy prime minister. – The Vibes, January 11, 2021
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