Four reasons why Muhyiddin and Hadi don’t wish to be PM-designate

Four reasons why Muhyiddin and Hadi don’t wish to be PM-designate

By Lim Kit Siang





YESTERDAY (March 29), former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin mooted a weekly showdown between Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the PM-designate while Dewan Rakyat is in session.

Khairy’s proposal is interesting and should be commonplace in any Parliament.

In the House of Commons, the clash between PM Rishi Sunak and Opposition leader Keir Starmer – whether on the police or illegal immigration issue – is commonplace.

But in Malaysia, it is a rarity. Everybody knows that Keir Starmer is the PM-designate but is Malaysia’s Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin the PM-designate?

If Perikatan Nasional (PN) forms the government, it is either Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang who will be PM and not Hamzah who is only in the second echelon of the leadership in Bersatu.

What is worse, all three – Muhyiddin, Hadi and Hamzah – have not posed a single question since the introduction of the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) in the Malaysian Parliament in the past two months as they were mostly absent during the PMQTs.

Lim Kit Siang (Pic credit: Astro Awani)


In fact, there is “missing persons” posting of Muhyiddin, Hadi and Hamzah going the rounds on social media with the wordings: “sesiapa yang jumpa, sila lapor kepada Parlimen Malaysia…” (literally, “if found. please report to the Malaysian Parliament”.

I have asked the question why Muhyiddin is not the Opposition leader – or at least Hadi – as they are the real leaders of Bersatu and PAS in the PN coalition.

I have hazarded three reasons why Muhyiddin did not want to become the Parliamentary Opposition leader – that he did not want to be confronted especially in Parliament on three issues, namely:

• As the first backdoor PM in Malaysia who dared not test his legitimacy with a vote of confidence in Parliament;
• Illegitimate, illegal and unconstitutional suspension of Parliament; and
• His abysmal failure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic causing Malaysia to have the longest COVID-19 wave in the world and an exceedingly high casualty list.

Now, there is a fourth reason – the Jana Wibawa scandal!

I have been mystified by the storm that the PN MPs have been trying to create over Anwar’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his inability to meet with King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Hadi is on record denouncing Saudi Arabia as believing more in Israel and Zionists than in Allah and Islam. If Hadi is right, then Anwar should be commended for not meeting the Saudi Arabia King and Crown Prince.

Hadi has not denied that he is a persona non grata in Saudi Arabia, the reason why he did not accompany Muhyiddin, the first Malaysian backdoor PM, during the latter’s official visit to Saudi Arabia in 2021 although Hadi was then the PM’s special envoy to the Middle East.

What is the stand of the PAS MPs on the inability of Anwar to meet with the Saudi Arabian King and Crown Prince?

Are they following Muhyiddin or Hadi? It is open secret that PN hopes that Khairy will be the PN “poster boy” and become the PN Menteri Besar in Negri Sembilan if PN wins the Negri Sembilan state general election in July or August.

Will Khairy agree? – March 30, 2023