The first thing that drew my immediate attention from Muhyiddin Yassin's 'ceramah' at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru on Monday night was:
"Umno perlu ubah! Apatah lagi kita yang sudah lama berkuasa..."
With him were our prime minister for 22 years, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal and some 'anti-Najib' division and branch leaders.
Perhaps someone should remind the Umno deputy president that he was actually speaking for himself - he had served as a minister and deputy PM for 19 years, and as Johor mentri besar for 9 years. Is that 28-year too short a 'power period' for him?
He started his speech by criticising the government for the 'ailing' ringgit, inflation, unemployment, fare hikes in public transportation and the spiraling price of consumer items. He blamed it all on the government, as if Malaysia is the key-maker in charting the petroleum price worldwide and controls the international monetary system.
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Maybe he employed wrong economic advisers, or probably pretended not knowing anything about the impact of global economy on many countries. In this aspect, I think deputy minister Ahmad Maslan (whom I sometimes jab) is much better.
Muhyiddin also urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to go on leave until the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigations are over.
"Let the investigations be independent. Once the investigations are over, become the PM again. This is what the people want. If there's nothing wrong, come back,” he said, adding that this was one way to clean the Prime Minister’s image.
Yes, there is a possibility he would be expelled from Umno but he was simply asking for it, knowing there would be 'no return' for him to the Cabinet.
Even after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has cleared Najib of any wrongdoing for accepting that RM2.6 political fund, he still tried to implicate Najib with 1MDB when Muhyiddin himself failed to get the right information about the investment entity.
He should have gathered more information on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) while he was still the deputy prime minister, said Najib who stressed that his former deputy and Cabinet members had also been briefed about the 1MDB before.
"As the deputy prime minister then, he had the right to call the management of 1MDB to seek further clarification," said the Prime Minister in an interview with TV3 in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2015 here.
The interview was conducted by the Group Managing Editor, News and Current Affairs, Media Prima Bhd Mohd Ashraf Abdullah, Group Managing Editor of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd, Media Prima Bhd Abdul Jalil Hamid and Utusan Group Editor-in-Chief Abdul Aziz Ishak.
The video of the interview has been uploaded on the website www.newsplus.my/live-tv.
The Prime Minister said Muhyiddin had also discussed the matter with him and he had given an explanation to him.
"There is no real excuse not to get information. Everything about the 1MDB can be known," said the Umno President when asked if Muhyiddin had not receive the full details about the 1MDB.
But why didn't he get the info?
In the interview, Najib has stressed that the donation of RM2.6 billion deposited into his account is neither from a public fund nor the government's strategic investment company, 1MDB, and that the matter had already been verified by the MACC which had also found the donors.
Its investigation director Azam Baki said they would submit a report to the attorney-general as soon as the investigation was completed. The MACC, however, did not disclose the results of the meeting as the investigation was still ongoing.
So, what's next for Muhyiddin?
"Umno perlu ubah! Apatah lagi kita yang sudah lama berkuasa..."
With him were our prime minister for 22 years, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal and some 'anti-Najib' division and branch leaders.
Perhaps someone should remind the Umno deputy president that he was actually speaking for himself - he had served as a minister and deputy PM for 19 years, and as Johor mentri besar for 9 years. Is that 28-year too short a 'power period' for him?
He started his speech by criticising the government for the 'ailing' ringgit, inflation, unemployment, fare hikes in public transportation and the spiraling price of consumer items. He blamed it all on the government, as if Malaysia is the key-maker in charting the petroleum price worldwide and controls the international monetary system.
Maybe he employed wrong economic advisers, or probably pretended not knowing anything about the impact of global economy on many countries. In this aspect, I think deputy minister Ahmad Maslan (whom I sometimes jab) is much better.
Muhyiddin also urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to go on leave until the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigations are over.
"Let the investigations be independent. Once the investigations are over, become the PM again. This is what the people want. If there's nothing wrong, come back,” he said, adding that this was one way to clean the Prime Minister’s image.
"I just want the investigations to be independent. It is good for the party.He added that some people had said there was no need to talk about this as action will be taken and that he could be sacked from the party.
"As the deputy president, I do not want this confidence crisis to continue until the elections. It will affect the party. People are angry with the problems that we are facing,” he said a day ahead of the Umno annual general assembly.
Yes, there is a possibility he would be expelled from Umno but he was simply asking for it, knowing there would be 'no return' for him to the Cabinet.
Even after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has cleared Najib of any wrongdoing for accepting that RM2.6 political fund, he still tried to implicate Najib with 1MDB when Muhyiddin himself failed to get the right information about the investment entity.
He should have gathered more information on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) while he was still the deputy prime minister, said Najib who stressed that his former deputy and Cabinet members had also been briefed about the 1MDB before.
"As the deputy prime minister then, he had the right to call the management of 1MDB to seek further clarification," said the Prime Minister in an interview with TV3 in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2015 here.
The interview was conducted by the Group Managing Editor, News and Current Affairs, Media Prima Bhd Mohd Ashraf Abdullah, Group Managing Editor of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd, Media Prima Bhd Abdul Jalil Hamid and Utusan Group Editor-in-Chief Abdul Aziz Ishak.
The video of the interview has been uploaded on the website www.newsplus.my/live-tv.
The Prime Minister said Muhyiddin had also discussed the matter with him and he had given an explanation to him.
"There is no real excuse not to get information. Everything about the 1MDB can be known," said the Umno President when asked if Muhyiddin had not receive the full details about the 1MDB.
But why didn't he get the info?
In the interview, Najib has stressed that the donation of RM2.6 billion deposited into his account is neither from a public fund nor the government's strategic investment company, 1MDB, and that the matter had already been verified by the MACC which had also found the donors.
"I have not committed any offence or malpractice, this has been explained at the Parliament by the deputy prime minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi).Asked why the funds were deposited into his account, the prime minister explained that it was the donor's wish and the donation was made in a personal capacity. Even the Bank Negara was notified when the account was created.
"The donors have been verified and found by the MACC and the commission has also obtained their statements."
"So, there is no intention at all to cheat or to commit an offence because Bank Negara had been notified about the existence of this account.The MACC yesterday confirmed sending its officials to the Middle-East to meet with the RM2.6 billion donor.
"But do not be confused. The account is in my name, but it is not like a personal account. And I am sure that once the investigation is completed, the truth will prevail," he said.
Its investigation director Azam Baki said they would submit a report to the attorney-general as soon as the investigation was completed. The MACC, however, did not disclose the results of the meeting as the investigation was still ongoing.
So, what's next for Muhyiddin?