Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has the most to gain from Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s guilty verdict today, claimed Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi.
“Today the person with the broadest smile when Najib was convicted is Muhyiddin, not Mahathir,’’ he said, referring to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Muhyiddin must be proud because even though Najib signed the affidavit supporting him as the eighth prime minister, he could not be bought with that support.
“Muhyiddin will claim he is the most principled person. That is why Zahid was also dropped from the list of ministers, although he should be appointed a deputy prime minister,’’ he said, referring to Umno president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi.
Puad said that Muhyiddin could leverage Najib’s conviction today as an example that the administration was of good moral standing.
However, Puad pointed out that not all lawmakers within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration were treated equally.
“But Azmin, who is embroiled in a video scandal and is without a party, can also be the most senior minister.
“The reason is he has not been charged,” he said, referring to Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, who was implicated in a sex video scandal last year.
“The same goes for Zahid Md Arif who is famous for the title ‘death broker’. He has also not been charged. That is why he was appointed as a senator.
“It seems that moral issues only apply to Umno leaders. They do not apply to other party leaders, especially Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia,’’ he said.
Puad was referring to Dr Mahathir’s political secretary, Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who was appointed as a senator under the PN administration.
He also alluded to the possibility that Najib’s conviction today could be attributed to an act of revenge.
“Whatever it is, Najib has never asked for his case to be dropped.
“Najib must know why that happened to him. There is a hidden [reason], which is vengeance,’’ he added. – MMO