Muhyiddin may go broke, just to repay a snub

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — This is payback time for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Four years ago, he felt bitter that the better and more qualified candidate was overlooked for the number two position in the country. That feeling of being snubbed by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not leave him for months after the latter picked Datuk Seri Najib Razak as his deputy.
His mood was compounded when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries — in his mind, a low profile ministry, something not befitting a senior vice-president of the party. Those who know him well said that Tun Musa Hitam told him to snap out of his funk and remember that in politics, a person who is down one day can always rise when circumstances change. Maybe Musa was just being a cheerleader but that message seems prescient today.
In fact, Muhyiddin was reminded of those words of wisdom from Musa a day after Umno and Barisan Nasional were stunned by the Opposition in Election 2008. With Abdullah being challenged openly by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and other party veterans and with Najib’s position somewhat under a cloud over personal issues, Muhyiddin believes he has an opening for advancement.
He has attempted to reach out to a few Umno ministers including Datuk Hishammudin Hussein, over the past few days to discuss the new political scenario in the country while his aides and family members have been speaking privately of him making a move for a more senior position in the party.
Adding fuel to the speculation has been his statements in public which indicate a politician keen on displaying an independent streak. Or a politician keen on displaying credentials for a more senior position in the party.
Several days ago, when he was asked about noises to remove the nomination quota, he said: “The nomination quota will encourage money politics as those who want to contest will buy enough nominations to contest. It will also create an unhealthy political culture as some of the delegates might not dare nominate a particular person if it could be viewed as going against or showing disrespect to the party leadership.’’
On Thursday, he refused to be drawn into commenting on whether the calls for Abdullah to resign should be supported. It is not difficult to understand why Muhyiddin senses an opportunity to go for broke – either as a challenger to Abdullah or part of a tag team to take on Abdullah-Najib. The conspiracy theorists say that Muhyiddin was always Mahathir’s sleeper agent, noting that as the Johor Menteri Besar, the former was a staunch supporter of the move to curb the powers of the Malay Rulers.
They also point to the close relationship Muhyiddin has with Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary, the prominent businessman and close friend of Dr Mahathir. In an interview with the International Herald Tribune last year, Dr Mahathir named Muhyiddin as one of the Umno leaders who could replace Abdullah, noting that he was ambitious.
The conspiracy theorists are wrong. If Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir find themselves on the same page, it is because of political expediency. Muhyididin has always felt that he was better suited to be Abdullah’s deputy than Najib. He felt that Abdullah strung him along and never really considered him as his deputy.
If anything, he was a pawn as Abdullah tried to show the party that he was his own man and would not bow to pressure from Dr Mahathir to appoint Najib.
This complex has never left him. In fact, in recent days, he has complained increasingly about Abdullah not consulting him enough over the past four years on important party and government issues. Still, if he decides to go for broke, it will not be a walk in the park for the former Johor MB.
His time as Johor MB was marked by phenomenal development as well as phenomenal corruption. He himself was caught in several messy property deals and had to be promoted to the federal level as a last resort.
But looking at the candidates lining up for the top few positions in Umno, he may not be out of place. Nearly every one of them is tainted by scandal.
The question of whether Muhyiddin will follow his heart and go for broke will only be answered after he finds out the mood among power brokers in the party and the grassroots. This could happen sooner rather than later.
MalaysiaInsider.

tunku : the contest for president/deputy are widely open right now especially when najib looks to hesitate to challenge abdullah.anyone can pair up and challenge both pak lah and najib.