Rural and Regional Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal should be the first to resign from Najib Abdul Razak's cabinet, for refusing to admit collective responsibility in the 1MDB debacle, an analyst says.

Political scientist Wong Chin Huat said shirking collective responsibility was even worse than being a "loyal lackey".

"It is part of your job to assume responsibility. (Now) you want the wages and all the perks, but disclaim responsibility. You should simply resign if you have any sense of shame.

"If you disagree with the prime minister, then leave the cabinet. Use your resolve to force the Najib to eventually to face the music," Wong ( photo ) said.

He said this when asked to comment on Najib's ultimatum to his cabinet colleagues to quit if they cannot agree with his handling of the 1MDB.

On Monday, Shafie said he and his cabinet colleagues have been "responsible" and have raised the 1MDB issue numerous times.

Thus, he said, the cabinet cannot be collectively responsible for 1MDB's problems.

1MDB is Najib's brainchild, envisioned as a sovereign wealth fund to propel Malaysia forward. However, it has raked up a debt of RM42 billion, in just six years since its inception.

DPM playing on wrong court

Wong said Shafie lacked the "ethics of a lackey", unlike Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan, who has gone all out to defend Najib.

"Ahmad Maslan ( photo ) is clear-cut a lackey of Najib. He just follows orders, he is not living up to the standard of a minister.

"But if you (Shafie) want to stay as a minister, you have to assume collective responsibility. You should defend your boss to the end," Wong said.

Apart from Shafie, Wong said Najib's message was also likely aimed at his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, who has been critical of Putrajaya's handling of 1MDB at a closed-door Umno meeting .

Muhyiddin said the 1MDB board, which was appointed by Najib, should be sacked .

Wong said Muhyiddin had thus abandoned the cabinet's principle of consensus and was thus "playing badminton on a football field".

"1MDB is the sovereign state fund. So why did Muhyiddin raise this outside, rather than during the cabinet meeting? Did he talk about this in the cabinet? If he did, shouldn't he state his stand?" Wong asked.

Call may not be directed at Shafie

Meanwhile, Merdeka Center programme director Ibrahim Suffian also agreed that, based on the principle of collective responsibility, cabinet members who differ with the prime minister should vacate their posts.

"What Najib said is fair. He appointed the cabinet and if the members are in disagreement with him, they should leave cabinet," Ibrahim said.

However, Ibrahim ( photo ) holds the view that Najib's message was to urge his opponents to leave and was not specifically directed at Shafie or Muhyiddin.

As for Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Najib was "absolutely correct" in expecting his cabinet members to bear collective responsibility.

"Shafie is wrong. The cabinet is collectively responsible. If Shafie does not agree with that, he is in the wrong system," Wan Saiful told Malaysiakini.

The fact that there are several ministers telling different things to the public about 1MDB has become a "joke" and they should instead channel their ideas to Najib during cabinet meetings, he added.