'Muhyiddin had offered Zahid the DPM post but Najib upped the ante by dumping Hisham'

PETALING JAYA - Having allowed himself to be used for the benefit of others, sacked Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has found himself discarded, going from being a career wingman to a pensioned one, political analyst Aspan Alias observes, discarded by the very people who used him.

It was Muhyiddin who played a leading role in bringing down Abdullah Badawi, Aspan reminds us, not because Abdullah had done wrong, but because Dr Mahathir Mohamed did not wish to see him run the country any longer.

Mahathir, Aspan claims, lonely in retirement, still wanted to be involved in the country’s administration. Abdullah, however, refused.

Eventually, using Muhyiddin, Mahathir forced Abdullah’s resignation and elevated Najib.

Najib did not consult Mahathir either, and over the past year or so became a target for the latter, who conveniently used negative public perception against the Prime Minister in an attempt to dislodge him from office.

Muhyiddin Yassin was dropped as DPM and replaced by Zahid. Speculation has swirled Najib had wanted his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein to be his No. 2 but was forced by the fast unfolding 1MDB scandal to counter-offer Zahid with the DPM post instead.

As real as the issues raised against Najib may appear, Mahathir’s one obstacle has been his inability to find a potential successor willing to act on his advice.

Muhyiddin offered himself, Aspan notes, but in doing so became both the bait and the victim.

‘Strong rumours’ at the time suggested that Muhyiddin would make Zahid Hamidi deputy if he successfully unseated Najib, Aspan claims, but that move was circumvented by Najib himself successfully appointing Zahid to be his own deputy after Muhyiddin was sacked.

Zahid can now be expected to be on the same page as his chief, giving Najib the upper hand and sending Muhyiddin, the discarded victim, to his retirement. - FMT