KUALA LUMPUR - A full-fledged political crisis has overtaken Malaysia, with dramatic sacking of its Attorney General Gani Patail this morning. Speculation is rife Gani was sacked in a bid by embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak to stop a high-level probe into corruption allegations against himself and his debt-laden 1MDB sovereign fund.
Many politicians including former Law minister Zaid Ibrahim had warned that Najib might be arrested 'these few days' as the task force led by Gani and including Bank Negara governor Zeti Aziz, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Abu Kassim and Inspector General of Police Khalid Bakar had reportedly uncovered a ountain of evidence to charge the 62-year-old Najib.
However, Gani's sacking, while a huge shock to Malaysians about to leave for their lunch break, is not the end to the saga, which many political observers believe may turn out to be Najib's final and fatal' blunder.
Political sources tell Malaysia Chronicle Najib is set to announce the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin this afternoon. Several other ministers will also be ousted but Muhyiddin will be the 'straw that finally breaks Umno's back'.
"This is Najib's counter-offensive against Dr Mahathir. The next few days will be mayhem but there's an Umno supreme council meeting scheduled for Friday and Dr Mahathir will respond - whether before or after Friday depending on how the situation unfolds," a political source told Malaysia Chronicle.
Apart from Muhyiddin, ministers Shafie Apdal, G Palanivel, Idris Jala and Hasan Malek have been reported to be among the 5 due to be stripped of their minister's post.
Idris, a Senator appointed to the Cabinet and not by virtue of being an elected representative, is actually a key Najib man but his 2-year term is up. Palanivel, the former MIC president, was recently ousted by his own party.
Umno tsunami
But grabbing center court is Muhyiddin, his reaction and who will replace him. Until lunch time, many insiders still had conflicting 'info'.
The Najib-controlled Utusan is betting on his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein, the Defence minister, to succeed Muhyiddin. But others favor Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, who has done Najib many favors in shoring up his position.
"Utusan could be spreading false news because many still think Zahid will be the chosen one. He scored the highest votes among the Umno vice presidents and Hisham the least. How will Najib justify and how will Zahid react - do you think Zahid's supporters will agree," said the political.
Be that as it may, until the final list is really announced by Najib, second-guessing the responses of the various Umno 'warlords' is pointless. What is certain though is that once announced, Najib would have triggered a major tsunami in Umno.
Dr M holds the final card?
This tsunami can only be quelled by the Umno supreme council, and if not - then by Dr Mahathir in joint forces with the growing numbers of leaders - both within the ruling BN coalition and from the Opposition parties - who want Najib to go so that political and economic stability can return.
"It will be uncharted territory for Umno and also Malaysia. Instability is inevitable, hopefully the stock and currency markets won't be hit too badly. But the bets are on Dr Mahathir to win. Not many people see Najib succeeding in his attempt to cling on. Some openly curse him as being foolish and selfish to bring on such an impossible deal to the table and destabilizing the country and economy in the process," said the source.
"In Umno itself, most have already distanced themselves from Najib. uhyiddin is also confident of his numbers. They are all waiting for Najib to act so that they can attack back and bring the matter to a close.
"But as I said, Najib's gamble was a bit of a shock though I think the Dr M camp had already prepared for it. Perhaps Najib should have been more humble and accepted the terms laid down by his peers in Umno for an orderly and smooth transition of power. Now he is in serious trouble." - Malaysia Chronicle
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