MUHYIDDIN TO BE SACKED FROM UMNO? Have we all underestimated Najib & Rosmah?

The fall of Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of Umno, Tan Sri Muhiyuddin in an unceremonious fashion from Cabinet together with several others who were opposed to the Najib game-plan should make many people to rush to the drawing board.

Not so much to hatch a counter plan but to search their souls if they had underestimated the joint prowess of the Najib-Rosmah team.

As we reckon, Tan Sri Muhiyuddin is no plain politician who rose to the echelons of power by chance. He is a grassroots man and hails from the cradle of Umno, Johor, to begin with.

Add to that the recent spat between a Najib-Rosmah loyalist with the royal household of the State of Johor.

What do you have? A potent, latent ball of unhappiness that can go ballistic of course given the Malay culture where to ‘menghina’ is not taken kindly. And when a Muslim invokes the name of God in resignation in the face of such totally unacceptable sacking of their leader, the embers cannot be extinguished over time.

But that sentiment aside, have we really underestimated the Najib-Rosmah team power? Yes. Let us eat humble pie to appreciate this truth.

Umno supreme council determined to ignore 1MDB debacle

Pic of Rosmah (in gold), Muhyiddin (green tie) & Najib (blue tie) Now there is talk that Muhyiddin might be sacked from Umno at its Friday supreme council meeting, just like Anwar Ibrahim was in 1998 - Malaysia Chronicle

All the opposition mavericks could not bring the 1MDB to weigh upon Najib or his spouse or the paid blind loyalists.

The Tun, often compared to a cunning old fox too could not shunt the throwing out of those who stood by his battle-cry to remove Najib.

Did anyone anticipate that there will be new cabinet taking shape so soon? Yes. We knew it for sure as the rumour mill was active for quite a while. But it came at time when we least expected by the days and weeks.

Plan B

What is most significant in this day and times is the fact that the Najib-Rosmah team would not have hatched their checkmate advances recently. It must have been a plan long on the boards under cover.

Looking back, it could all have been in the pipeline since the days of weapons purchases and kickbacks sourced. It could have almost got derailed with the Altantuya murder but the team pulled that one through with no one being sent to the gallows even after all these years and the courts having deemed that motive was not essential.

Before the 1MDB debacle, there were many more dents to their armor – from branded bags to shopping sprees to jet set lifestyles at government expense.

There was a news break out about Rosmah's boy making it real big in the wild wild west.

They survived all of that too. Then came the multi-million splurge on a wedding. That do was dusted off like droplets on a duck’s back.

The cascades of global expose of the 1MDB that saw a scramble to initiate all kinds of high-profiled investigations saw many going incommunicado or tight-lipped.

Was it fear or wisdom or sheer facts against allegations that silently dictated to some that to instead pledge absolute loyalty to the Najib-Rosmah team is the only option to withstand an onslaught in the making?

It looks like they have won but have they really won?

Today we witness the Najib-Rosmah team surrounded by a team of full-pledged loyalists, the new Cabinet line up.

Umno is in tatters. But the Najib Administration has revved up to a higher overdrive mode. The opposition is running around with a torn stigmas of a failing coalition given the unsavory fact that the Najib-Rosmah team saw to it very much earlier that the opposition camp’s charismatic leader Anwar Ibrahim is best shut away in the dungeon.

All the veterans of Umno tried. Tengku Razaleigh tired. Musa Hitam did too. Tun Daim would certainly not have abstained. Rafidah Aziz blasted too.

But the Najib-Rosmah team has checkmated all of them. That may be hard to accept. Some will argue that the old fox is not done yet.

Even before the dust can settle this Tuesday 28 July as streams of shocked supporters are almost camping at the now former DPM’s house, we hear whispers of the 1MDB investigations hitting a wall already.

With the TPP in insight with initiatives in place soon in Hawaii and later in Malaysia come November 015, all that matters to the global players is that the Najib-Rosmah team is not rattled. That too is another fact that the Najib-Rosmah team are capitalizing to the last letter.

In the days ahead we will know whether Umno will crack up or have a last go at the Najib-Rosmah team. But with the change of guard in the AG’s department, is there much hope really? Already there is talk of hauling up those guilty of hanky-panky dealings beginning with the now former DPM’s finger in the cookie jar.

The question then is have we underestimated the Najib-Rosmah team this far? - MAIL BAG