Muhyiddin S Return Will Keep Ismail Under Control Claims Puad

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Puad Zarkashi said prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob may not act independently and might be under the control of Muhyiddin Yassin.PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi predicts that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be “controlled” by his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin, who was appointed as chairman of the National Recovery Council (NRC) yesterday.
“How was Muhyiddin appointed? Did he pressure Ismail? Or did Ismail appoint him on his own because he doesn’t believe Muhyiddin is a failed prime minister?” said Puad in a Facebook post today.
He also questioned whether the NRC had a wide jurisdiction, stating that there would now be terms of reference that would make the council more authoritative.
If Muhyiddin’s appointment was forced as a condition for Bersatu’s support, “this means that Ismail will be a prime minister who is ‘controlled’ and allows a Perikatan Nasional (PN) 2.0 government to exist,” Puad said.
“The big issue now is that Muhyiddin’s failed image will haunt the new government of the ninth prime minister.”
The recovery council was formed in July to replace a special Cabinet committee that supervised a national recovery programme.
Puad said the Umno Supreme Council had already issued warnings not to revive PN.
He added that Muhyiddin’s appointment proved that federal territories minister Shahidan Kassim was correct to claim that the new government is a PN one. Shahidan said the current PN government is backed by Barisan Nasional as opposed to Bersatu, which is led by Muhyiddin.
Puad said Muhyiddin’s appointment had “saved” Bersatu, and the party is now “back stronger” in the government and has room to negotiate with Umno for seat distributions ahead of the next general election.
Last month, Puad had sounded a warning against Ismail’s government being made a proxy government, and rejected calls for Muhyiddin to be appointed a mentor to Ismail’s government. - FMT

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