KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has indirectly made himself the finance and economic affairs minister with his Cabinet line-up, a DAP senator asserted today as he cautioned of potential power abuse.
Liew Chin Tong claimed the move was meant to strip former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali of power to prevent him from staging another rebellion against the sitting prime minister.
Azmin, formerly the economic affairs minister, a powerful portfolio that approves and distributes state contracts, was seen as the primary figure behind the crisis that brought down the Pakatan Harapan government.
“Under Muhyiddin’s team, despite being named as a ‘senior minister’, Azmin is now merely handling a junior portfolio, at least compared to his previous MEA,” Liew said in a letter.
“Economic Affairs portfolio is now reverted to PMD. For MOF, he appointed a technocrat to handle the Finance portfolio, thus avoiding meddling from other senior politicians in his Cabinet.
“This means the prime minister is the de facto finance minister.”
Azmin was named as one of four senior ministers in Muhyiddin’s large Cabinet line-up yesterday, but this time for the international trade and industry portfolio.
The post, however, is usually held by capable senior politicians.
Still, Liew claimed the new appointment was akin to a demotion for the Gombak MP, whose new ministry is unlikely to wield the same influence as the MEA.
“Azmin is now demoted to Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti). Whereas under the Pakatan government, he was in charge of the all-powerful MEA,” he said.
“I am quite sure Azmin is now a disappointed man after spending more than a year as the prime mover of the recent political coup,” the senator added.
“His supporters too would have wanted him to be handsomely rewarded.”
Breaking away from convention, Muhyiddin eschewed naming a deputy prime minister, choosing instead to appoint four “senior ministers” to advise him in his duties.
Next to Azmin, Umno’s Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as defence minister, Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof as works minister, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Mohd Radzi Md Jidin as education minister.
