Report: Dr M gave Azmin powers to oversee RM1 trillion worth of companies

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has entrusted Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali with powers to oversee some of Malaysia’s biggest companies which are collectively worth more than RM1 trillion, according to Singapore’s Straits Times.

According to the report, the latest move to empower Azmin could trigger rivalries within Harapan component parties and allow Mahathir to maintain an upper hand over PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The English daily quoted sources who said that companies placed under the ministry’s watch would include state oil giant Petronas, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and savings manager Perbadanan Nasional Berhad.

This was on top of agencies in charge of Malay-Muslim welfare such as the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji and a swathe of units and departments that help Malay entrepreneurs.

The Prime Minister’s Department currently oversees Felda and Tabung Haji. Both had been marred by various high-profile scandals during the tenure of former premier Najib Abdul Razak.

“The scope is so wide that earlier plans to place International Trade and Industry under MEA (the Ministry of Economic Affairs) will likely be ditched," a source familiar with the restructuring was quoted as saying.

The report claimed that Mahathir had made a “huge gesture” by giving Azmin the economic affairs portfolio.

This was because the transfer of Petronas, Khazanah and over 60 other companies currently under the purview of the Minister of Finance Inc would be a complex process that possibly required legal amendments that were approved by Parliament.

It also described the “manoeuvres” by Mahathir as just another strategy from the 92-year-old’s “divide-and-conquer playbook” as his Bersatu party won only 13 parliamentary seats while PKR holds 49 seats - the most number of seats among Harapan component parties.  

The report said Azmin had been appointed to the key ministerial post despite PKR’s bid for one of four top portfolios - finance, home affairs, defence or education - being rebuffed during the early stages of negotiations.

According to the report, Mahathir’s move to empower Azmin had subsequently triggered alarm bells among Anwar’s supporters.

It also alleged that Azmin and Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin are part of a rival faction within PKR who are facing off against Anwar and his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Anwar himself had earlier this week, in his first official meeting with PKR leaders since being freed from prison, reminded them to throw their full support behind Mahathir’s administration.

'A consummate chess master'

Aside from Azmin's appointment and consolidating support of Harapan parties, the Straits Times also said Mahathir had made moves to split the opposition ranks through his recent meetings with its top leaders - acting Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

"Mahathir was the consummate chess master in that respect.

“When communal politics was at a high, he made sure that aside from Malays, each community would have two BN components tussling to represent their voice, instead of fighting against his dominance," Pacific Research Centre's principal adviser Oh Ei Sun was quoted as saying.

It was also noted that such moves recalled Mahathir's own strategies which he had implemented during his tenure as Umno president. -Mkini