Newcomers in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's reshuffled cabinet may need to tread carefully as they risk tainting themselves.

 

This, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan said, was because the cabinet reshuffle was not done out of interest for governance but to consolidate Najib's shaky position.

 

"They have to think very carefully before they accept their position.

 

"The reshuffle was done with questionable motivation so it doesn't matter how good they are, they may become tainted," he said.

 

Najib today announced a new cabinet lineup where he removed Muhyiddin Yassin as Deputy Prime Minister and Shafie Apdal as Rural and Regional Development Minister.

 

Both leaders had been critical of Najib's handling of 1MDB.

 

Most notably, Najib also appointed half of the eight BN MPs in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), including the committee's chief Nur Jazlan ( photo ) into the government.

 

If they were to accept the appointments, it will likely throw a spanner in the PAC's ongoing investigation into 1MDB.

 

Wan Saiful said if the newcomers were to accept the appointments, they would also need to keep a distance from the prime minister's scandals.

 

"They will likely try to distance themselves but my feeling is they may still be tainted as there are many different allegations (against) Najib's administration," he said.

 

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who had helped coordinate the legal aspect of the special task force probe into claims that RM2.6 billion was deposited into Najib's private bank accounts, was also removed from office.

 

He was replaced with Mohamad Apandi Ali. 

 

The task force's investigation will be rendered moot if the attorney-general refuses to pursue the case as it is the only position that controls prosecution powers.