It will not be a surprise if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin rejoins Umno as his party Bersatu is running out of options to survive, said Bersatu supreme council member A Kadir Jasin.
Although Muhyiddin leads the Perikatan Nasional government, his party does not determine the government’s agenda, which is controlled by PAS and Umno, Kadir wrote in a blog post today.
“Let us not be surprised or shocked if Muhyiddin is thinking of another option, that is to return to Umno,” said the former newspaper veteran and Dr Mahathir Mohamad loyalist.
“We need to remember that Muhyiddin did not leave Umno. He was sacked by Najib. Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir left Umno voluntarily. So, it is not impossible or surprising if Muhyiddin returns to Umno.”
Muhyiddin, who was Umno deputy president, was sacked in 2016 for questioning then prime minister Najib Razak handling of the 1MDB scandal.
On February 23, Muhyiddin and the bulk of Bersatu MPs, gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya where they met Barisan Nasional, PAS and rebel PKR MPs.
The so-called Sheraton move subsequently brought about the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government.
Kadir said Umno was using the Perikatan coalition to seize power for itself and its Muafakat Nasional partner PAS.
“They can trigger a political crisis, for example by calling a vote of no confidence against Muhyiddin causing the PN government to fall and forcing the dissolution of Parliament and a snap election.
“If Umno could remove Muhiddin in 2016 so easily, when he was the deputy president and deputy prime minister, we should not be surprised if he is taken for a ride by Umno again.”
He said Bersatu members “who wished to save the country from kleptocracy” should work to wrest back control of the party from the “power hungry traitors”. – TMI