Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's move to appoint his predecessor as the head of the National Recovery Council (NRC) has courted friendly fire from his own party.
Umno supreme council leader Mohd Puad Zarkashi questioned Ismail Sabri's rationale for appointing Muhyiddin and warned that the latter's track record will haunt him.
"How was Muhyiddin appointed? Did he pressure Ismail Sabri or did Ismail Sabri do it willingly because he believed that Muhyiddin is not a failed prime minister?
"The major issue now is Muhyiddin's image as a failure will haunt the new government headed by the ninth prime minister," Puad said on Facebook.
He reminded Ismail Sabri that the party had already cautioned him against a repeat of Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
"The Umno supreme council had been reminded not to revive the image of a PN 2.0," he said.
However, Puad said, Muhyiddin's appointment appears to reinforce claims that Ismail Sabri's government will be a "PN 2.0".
He also questioned the extent of Muhyiddin's powers as the head of NRC and its terms of reference.
Puad added that the move helps to strengthen Bersatu, whose president is Muhyiddin, which may make demands from Umno on the allocation of electoral seats in the next general election.
Last Saturday, Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali announced that the cabinet had on Sept 1 agreed to appoint Muhyiddin as the NRC chair with the status of a minister.
The NRC, set up during Muhyiddin's era, aims to help the country and the national economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former prime minister presided over a tumultuous tenure that saw the number of Covid-19 cases swell from 33 on his first day in office on March 1 last year to 1,424,639 when he resigned on Aug 16.
A total of 12,784 people have also died from Covid-19 during the period.
Muhyiddin was ousted after 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for him.
They returned to the fold after it was agreed that Ismail Sabri would take over as prime minister. - Mkini
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