Muhyiddin’s Cabinet like old wine in a new bottle, says Wan Azizah

Former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

PETALING JAYA: Former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail says the new Cabinet is like “old wine in a new bottle”, claiming that many members are still “tainted” by the 1MDB scandal.

In an interview with Bloomberg, she said she holds former federal territories mufti Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, who was appointed as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs, in high regard.

However, she said the other Cabinet members were “questionable”.

“The majority are from Umno… They are still tainted by the 1MDB crisis,” she said when asked her opinion of the new line-up.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who announced his Cabinet yesterday, had said he would not include those facing graft and other criminal charges.

But Wan Azizah said many of his Cabinet members had been there when the 1MDB crisis unfolded.

“They did nothing to stop it or prevent it from descending into even more of a crisis,” she said.

“This is like old wine in a new bottle, and we hope this wine doesn’t turn into vinegar.”

Muhyiddin was sworn in as the eighth prime minister on March 1 after a week of political uncertainty following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government late last month.

His Cabinet is dominated by PPBM which has 11 ministers, followed by Umno with nine, Gabungan Parti Sarawak with four and PAS with three. - FMT