DON'T COUNT ON UMNO REVOLT OR NAJIB WILL BURY YOU: DO MUKHRIZ & MUHYIDDIN HAVE THE GUTS TO FIGHT BACK

Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked from Umno on Friday, one month and several days shy of one year, since he was axed as deputy prime minister.

Like last year, there is now an uproar among Umno factions aligned with him, but what impact will the rumblings have this time around?

In 2015, the shock from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak dumping Muhyiddin as his deputy, set off tremors of a possible Umno rebellion in Johor, which would spread from south to north, and set in motion Najib's downfall.

But fast forward one year and in retrospect, all the hype and excitement following Muhyiddin's removal from Putrajaya now feel less like tremors and more like the rumblings of an upset stomach which resulted in a really loud fart.

The only memorable course of action the former Umno deputy president has taken since being axed last year was to join the opposition in Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Citizens' Declaration movement.

But over one million signatures later (or so they claim) and all we have is still a big stinking pile of nothing.

One state election and two by-elections show that support for BN is still strong, and that Najib is in a comfortable and secure position.

So what could Muhyiddin possibly do now that would make a difference? Will the uproar over his second dismissal anti-climax into another loud fart?

Best shot missed

Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat said Muhyiddin, together with Mukhriz Mahathir who was also sacked from Umno on Friday, had already missed their best shot at hurting Najib.

"They should have quit the party and got Mukhriz to run in one of the by-elections (in Sungai Besar or Kuala Kangsar)," Wong told Malaysiakini.

Despite failing to strike when the iron was hot, the pundit said the duo still have time to make something happen.

"If they can quickly organise themselves to form a new party, they can keep the fire burning at least for a while. If they still sit and wait, then Najib has just buried them."

He added they should not join any of the existing opposition parties if they wish to stay alive beyond the 14th general elections.

He said they should not miss another chance and "act like crybabies" later.

"Mukhriz especially should prove his worth, show he is not daddy's boy."

Muhyiddin and Mukhriz were sacked from Umno by a unanimous decision from the supreme council, for working with the opposition.

Meanwhile Umno vice president Shafie Apdal, who was dropped from the cabinet together with Muhyiddin last year, was suspended from the party.

All three fell from Najib's grace for speaking out on the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation scandals. - M'kini