Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 13, 2020 - April 19, 2020

WHILE some members of his Cabinet have been embroiled in a comedy of errors, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is moving on nicely, albeit taking a slew of eyebrow-raising steps to strengthen his grip on a position that not too long ago was described as precarious.

His ministers have gained notoriety through a series of gaffes. They include advising wives to sound like Doraemon (which made world news), wearing a hazmat suit with the word “minister” emblazoned across the headgear, changing the name of a ministry to one whose acronym has an unflattering meaning, advocating drinking warm water to kill the coronavirus and the latest — introducing a TikTok idea.

Then there are the many u-turns and flip-flops by ministers, particularly with regards to the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). And, of course, we are still seeing ministers trying to outdo one another with media statements that seem to overstep their respective jurisdictions.

But the prime minister is doing fine. His addresses to the nation thus far have won the hearts of many. The aid he announced via the economic stimulus packages has been well received. His presentation has earned him accolades. The reference to “Makcik Kiah” to describe the average Malaysian, later expanded to include “Madam Lee”, “Haji Salleh” and “Surjit Kaur” has been welcomed with comments ranging from “cute” to “brilliant”.

To many Malays, opening his speeches with “Assalamualaikum” and ending them with a doa marks Muhyiddin as a God-fearing Muslim leader. And the fact that he is the son of a respected guru agama only adds to that belief.

Muhyiddin is also seen as a fatherly figure who is sporting enough to laugh at the fact that part of his speech was turned into a rap-like tune advising people to abide by the MCO. He earned respect when he showed he was not angry or offended that his speech was made fun of in a video that went viral.

That he took a line — after the rain comes the sun — from his singer-songwriter daughter Najwa Mahiaddin’s song, After the Rain, to lift the spirit of Malaysians in the current pandemic also earned him kudos.

However, in politics, Muhyiddin is still facing the problems he got into from day one on the job. It has now been confirmed that he will be challenged by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir for the Bersatu presidency. Mukhriz’s father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been returned unopposed as party chairman.

While Muhyiddin is the favourite against Mukhriz, in politics, nothing can be taken for granted. Muhyiddin knows this all too well, being the seasoned politician that he is. Thus, he has put his strategy in place. Even before Mukhriz’s nomination was confirmed, he acted — sacking Datuk Marzuki Yahya from the vital secretary-general’s post and bringing in his own man, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, the home minister in his administration.

He is also said to have stopped the special allocation for the parliamentary constituency of Langkawi, where Mahathir is MP, and also Muar, held by Mahathir loyalist Syed Saddiq Rahman. All that is seen as moves to tighten his grip on the party with an eye on the party election, which has been put on hold due to the pandemic.

Muhyiddin has strengthened his hand further. In March, he met Bersatu’s four state assemblymen who are supporting the Selangor state Pakatan Harapan government and advised them to remain with the party. That they have done.

As I had written previously, Mahathir had described Muhyiddin as one who is riding a tiger and is unable to dismount lest he be eaten up by the beast. And it looks like he is continuing to ride the tiger.

It is plain to see that Muhyiddin is where he is now because of help from various parties, namely Umno, PAS, GPS and the Datuk Seri Azmin Ali faction.

To say that he is indebted is not wrong. And if that is the term to be used, then he has thus far paid back his debt — considering that many from the parties mentioned have already been rewarded with positions in his Cabinet and government.

The latest is PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who was appointed special envoy to the Middle East. Hadi was not named as a member of the Cabinet but the envoy job carries ministerial status. Put simply, Hadi is now a minister.

But there are political observers who say that as far as publicity goes, the present government looks like an Umno government, suggesting that there is at least one minister who is pushing his weight around, as if having little regard for the prime minister.

It was never in doubt that Muhyiddin has been accommodating his political partners and perhaps that is what he has done up till now, with appointments to appease all factions in Perikatan, as several political analysts have commented.

The Muhyiddin administration is said to be making a wave of changes, including the swift removal of heads of state-owned companies and federal agencies such as MARA.

More changes are said to be coming — for the government “to consolidate control over the corporate sector”. According to analysts, the government will remove people who were appointed by Pakatan Harapan and replace them with “their own people”. These could very well be old familiar faces.

Many of the professionals appointed by PH are being replaced by politicians. Such a move is a step backwards from the country’s institutional reforms, even if it is meant to win political support.

As more heads of GLC roll, many PN members of parliament are expected to land plum jobs. The names being floated now include many Umno heavyweights.

Is this true? If so, could this be Muhyididn’s way to ensure continuous support from all factions for him to remain in power?

 

Mohsin Abdullah is a contributing editor at The Edge. He has covered politics for more than four decades.

 

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