Muhyiddin still unwilling to take ‘bull by the horns’

A UKM political scientist says Najib Razak now has time to win back support from disgruntled members within Umno.

PETALING JAYA: Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to remain in Umno shows that the suspended deputy president is unwilling to “take the next step” to remove Prime Minister and party President Najib Razak.

“By staying with Umno he has shown that he is not willing to take the bull by the horns.

“To do so he would have to be part of a bigger voice to oust Najib, like joining forces with the Opposition,” political scientist Associate Prof Faisal S Hazis told FMT.

Faisal, who heads the Centre of Asian Studies at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, UKM said it looked like Muhyiddin would rather be sacked than quit the party.

He also said that with Muhyiddin staying put, Umno would remain as it is with the former deputy prime minister’s supporters unlikely to leave the party as well.

“Muhyiddin missed the boat to remove Najib when he was still in a position of power, as DPM and Umno deputy president and will have to wait for the next party elections to do so.”

However, Faisal noted that Najib will now have time to win back the support of disgruntled Umno members, while Muhyiddin risks losing traction.

Yesterday, the Pagoh MP declared he would remain a member of Umno, despite his recent suspension on the grounds that he had failed to assist Najib, an accusation he has vehemently denied.