KUALA LUMPUR – The talk of prime ministership did not escape the notice of once prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as he slammed Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for lobbying to be back at the helm.
Najib has accused Muhyiddin of going behind the government’s back to garner support to bring down prime minister and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob while openly saying otherwise.
“When he is called a traitor, he gets upset,” he said on his Facebook page today.
“He (Muhyiddin) wants to be prime minister again. That’s why he got in touch with Dr Mahathir, Anwar, and Shafie covertly to get support,” referring to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
“But all three whom he approached also want to be PM. So, who will become PM if their cooperation is successful?
“There will be a day that they will stab each other again, and we will again have another unstable government.”
Najib also described the plan as PH2.0 with the hashtag #RinduZamanBerpuluhpuluhPerutusanKhas.
It is understood that he is referring to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government after the Sheraton Move in late February 2020, which also led to Muhyiddin being prime minister for about 17 months.
During Muhyiddin’s helm, he was criticised for his “special announcements” particularly at the height of the movement control orders, which was designed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Najib’s comments also followed Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir’s comments yesterday.
Dr Mahathir yesterday told reporters that Muhyiddin had sought Pejuang’s support in his bid to become prime minister again.
He added that it remained unlikely for him to realign with Muhyiddin and Bersatu, a party they formed together in 2017.
“When he was PM, a lot of people were unsatisfied with his leadership. He was not a good PM, and that is why nobody wants him as PM again; if he achieved great things for Malaysia, I am confident he doesn’t need my support to win.
“We are not thinking about that, we are not going to support somebody as a prime minister who was as much of a failure as (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) was,” the nonagenarian said during a press conference at Yayasan Albukhary.
Dr Mahathir also described Muhyiddin as a backstabber, saying: “I am no longer the prime minister because of Muhyiddin; he backstabbed me, and that is why I am not prime minister anymore.”
“But now he is asking for help from the people he has backstabbed, and since we are not dead, he has come again to ask for help.” – The Vibes, April 2, 2022
