A FORMER Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader opined that Prime Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin was still “Umno at heart” as shown with the recent promotions given to its party leaders.
“He was Umno’s deputy president and served as the deputy prime minister before being sacked by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in 2016 for questioning the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) corruption scandal.
“Even now, as Bersatu’s president, he gave precedence to Umno leaders in his Cabinet line-up. Ministers and their deputies from his own party are relegated to the back rows,” said A Kadir Jasin in a Facebook post.
Bersatu and Umno had been at loggerheads with each other ever since forming the Perikatan Nasional coalition, after Pakatan Harapan lost federal power early last year.
Umno itself is now divided between those aligned to Mahiaddin and the ones opposed to him. The latter group is led by Najib and party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Recently, Mahiaddin promoted Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to become his deputy, with Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein being upgraded to the rank senior minister.
Just hours after the Umno duo’s promotions, Zahid announced that the party was pulling support from Perikatan, complicating the already messy political situation in the country.
Never underestimate Hamzah, Azmin
Kadir, an ally of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said that both Mahiaddin and Umno leaders knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses well, which allowed them to work well together.
“For now, it looks like Umno gained the upper hand. With Ismail Sabri and Hishammuddin’s elevation, Umno looks poised to grab power from Bersatu.
“But the said advantage did not help stabilise Umno. In a latest development, Zahid removed Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman as their election director and replaced him with party deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
“These two Perakians are not the best of compatriots as Tajuddin has often spoken and acted in contrary to Zahid’s stance,” he stated.
Kadir mentioned that Mahiaddin’s recent maneuverings have also seemed to weaken the two top powerbrokers of Bersatu, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and International Trade and Industries Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
“Both appear to have lost their political mojo but several observers have cautioned not to let your eyes off these two characters,” he remarked. – July 17, 2021
