Muhyiddin joins Anwar as 2nd DPM to be sacked from post

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been vocal in his criticism of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s handling of 1MDB. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, July 28, 2015.

Axed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin now joins the ranks of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the only other deputy prime minister to be sacked in the history of Malaysian politics.

The post has, however, been a hot seat of sorts, where in the past, Tun Musa Hitam, who held the post from 1981 to 1986, resigned over differences with then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Tun Ghafar Baba, who took over in 1986 but defeated by Anwar in 1993.

Anwar was sacked on September 2, 1998 over allegations of corruption and sodomy.

Muhyiddin, now 68, got his first real taste of politics when he contested and won the Pagoh parliamentary seat in 1978, which he held for two terms until 1986.

He then switched to contest the Bukit Serampang state assembly seat which he won, paving the way for him to become the menteri besar of Johor in 1986.

Before that, he served as deputy minister in two ministries.

After his menteri besar stint, Muhyiddin assumed various ministerial portfolios before he was made deputy to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April 2009.

He has held the Umno deputy president’s post since March 2009.

He assumed the education minister portfolio in April 2009 and two months later, announced that the government was scrapping the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science in English policy (PPSMI), which was introduced by Dr Mahathir in 2003.

Muhyiddin also courted controversy in March 2010, when he declared that he was Malay first and Malaysian second in relation to Najib's 1Malaysia branding.

Of late, Muhyiddin has been vocal, albeit in an on-off mode, over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

On Sunday, however, Muhyiddin renewed his criticism of the government's strategic investment fund at the Cheras Umno division annual meeting where he questioned  the scandal surrounding 1MDB's RM42 billion debts and The Wall Street Journal's reports of money transferred into the Najib's accounts but was told by the Prime Minister's Office yesterday to wait for final investigation results.

Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 from former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He has yet to reshuffle or tweak the Cabinet from 2009 and after the 2013 general election where he expanded the list of full ministers to 35.

- TMI