Whose sin is Muhyiddin paying for?

As Deputy Umno President for the last six years, he too must bear the burden of the party's transgressions.

COMMENT

It has traditionally been the privilege of the Deputy President of Umno to deliver the address at the joint opening of the annual Wanita, Pemuda, and Puteri Umno assemblies. And so, for the past six years, it has been Muhyiddin Yassin who has had the honour of doing so.

However, the Umno Supreme Council has decided that for this year, there’ll be a break from tradition. The three Umno wings will open separately with addresses by their respective chiefs. The party president, Najib Razak, claimed the move was made following a proposal from the wings in question, while the other members of the Supreme Council have tried to assure the party membership that while this was not party tradition, it did not stray from the party constitution.

Muhyiddin did not hide his disappointment. In a mournful statement posted on his official Facebook page, he asked what had he done that was so “sinful” that he had to be denied the once-a-year opportunity to give the speech. He asked whether those behind the move were afraid of what he might say. He ended his posting with a vow to continue fighting his “perjuangan suci (sacred struggle).”

Many will answer that Muhyiddin’s “sin” was the audacity to go against the Prime Minister’s will on the issue of 1MDB and the still mysterious RM2.6 billion donation to Najib. As the man carrying Umno’s dirty secrets up into the light, Muhyiddin is now considered a pariah in the party, unwanted and unneeded by an administration that has decided he has no place in its framework. The stink of the sin that Muhyiddin carries cannot, in the eyes of certain key individuals, be carried anywhere near the Umno grassroots. With the branch chiefs showing signs of rebellion, Najib can ill afford a speech that will be critical of his leadership, especially now that there are signs that the fallout over 1MDB is dissipating.

It’s interesting that Muhyiddin chose the language of religion in his posting. He could have used the word “kesilapan (mistake)” instead of “dosa (sin).” And he reinforced the religious tone by speaking of the “sacred” nature of his struggle. What he was obviously saying was that, in criticising 1MDB, he was waging a veritable jihad, not a mere political war. In other words, those responsible for the 1MDB scandal had committed a mortal sin that all Muslims are religiously obliged to disapprove of – in their hearts, at the very least.

The spiritually inclined, especially those Muslims who are opposed to Umno, would most likely agree with Muhyiddin. But some would go further than him. They would say that Umno’s current troubles are the wages of all the sins it has been committing throughout much of its time in power, particularly in recent years. And Muhyiddin, as Deputy Umno President for the last six years, must bear part of the burden of those sins.

But let’s be generous and assume that Muhyiddin has repented, and he gave us a sign of his repentance when he started being outspoken against Najib and 1MDB. Perhaps that’s why the price he is paying – the loss of the opportunity to address the Umno wings – is small compared to the price Najib may eventually have to pay.