KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 ― The removal of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as deputy prime minister yesterday could lead to a period of turmoil that will unsettle Malaysia’s political stability, analysts have said.
Political observers told Singapore paper Straits Times said Malaysia has already experienced years of political upheaval in the two previous times that a deputy prime minister had unwillingly vacated the post.
“This latest turn of events will not inspire confidence and will only raise concerns about the political stability in Malaysia,” Singapore Management University law professor Eugene Tan told the Straits Times.
The first bout of political upheaval happened in 1986 when Tun Musa Hitam quit as deputy prime minister over disagreements with the-then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad - leading to an acrimonious split in and eventual deregistration of Umno.
Dr Mahathir was again in the thick of things in 1998, when he sacked his then-deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, sparking the Reformasi movement.
Ibrahim Suffian from local pollster Merdeka Center said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s move has neutralised, in the short-term, enemies who were trying to unseat him, but warned that there was a “long road to regain the political capital (lost) by the economic issues, GST (goods and services tax) and the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) saga”.
Analysts also told the Singapore daily that Najib may face an uprising in Johor ― which is Muhyiddin’s home state ― and Sabah, due to the removal of Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal. Both states are considered Umno strongholds.
Yesterday’s shock Cabinet reshuffle happened just hours after the government abruptly announced that Tan Sri Gani Patail, who had been leading a multi-agency investigation on corruption allegations involving Najib and 1MDB, has been removed as Attorney-General.
Four members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from ruling party Barisan Nasional were also made new members of Najib’s administrative lineup, with one made a full minister.
PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who was appointed deputy home minister, said the committee’s 1MDB probe would be suspended until October when a new chief is appointed as he and the other three BN MPs would have to vacate their posts in the PAC.
But PAC vice-chair Dr Tan Seng Giaw, a DAP lawmaker, has insisted that the 1MDB investigation will continue uninterrupted as the committee has quorum even without the four.
