COMMENT It is over the 1MDB scandal that Muhyiddin Yassin, the former deputy prime minister and the number two man in Umno, was removed from the cabinet along, with three others, recently.

The top-most question in the minds of Malaysians is whether Muhyiddin, with the backing of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will galvanise forces in Umno to bring down Prime Minsiter Najib Abdul Razak.

It is believed that if Umno members rebel against Najib, there is nothing in the world that can save him. The role of Umno members, particularly at the levels of the supreme council and division, are crucial for the very survival of Najib as the prime minister!

However, following his removal, Muhyiddin, contrary to the expectations of many, has done nothing drastic in wanting to remove Najib.

Apart from the gathering of his supporters at his home and some leaked information about Najib admitting that he indeed receive the RM2.6 billion in 1MDB funds into his private bank accounts, nothing concrete has emerged to pose a direct challenge to Najib.

Perhaps there are too many expectations that Muhyiddin, by virtue of his number two post in the party, would be able to do this and that. He might be the preferred candidate of Mahathir, but the latter is not in a position to order things around.

Whoever is the head of Umno, Muhyiddin is a loyal follower. Unlike Anwar Ibrahim, he does not have national following. He might have a base in his home state of Johor. But that is about it.

He's just a follower, with no political brilliance

At the level of ideas, Muhyiddin is just a follower. He reached the number two post in the party and the government not by his political brilliance, but by projecting an image that he is loyal to leaders above him in Umno.

Anwar fought Mahathir and succeed in splitting Umno. The birth of PKR was a direct result of the Anwar's struggle against corruption and abuse of power in Umno.

The birth of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition before the 2008 election would not have been possible without the leadership of Anwar. Over the years, Anwar has built up a strong network of relationship with foreign leaders.

In fact, no other Umno leader can match Anwar in terms of his public relations.

The very fact that Anwar is in prison on some trumped-up charges tells us much about his popularity, and the fear he poses to the Umno leaders, particularly to Najib.

Muhyiddin is pathetic in comparison with Anwar. He is not a match when it comes to mobilising of forces for change in the country. 

Muhyiddin might have fallen out of favour with Najib, but he lacks the vision and stamina to bring about the necessary changes in Umno.

Perhaps he is looking forward for a helping hand from Mahathir. Mahathir has not commented yet on the recent sackings by Najib.

Mahathir will surely comment on this, but whether he can push Muhyiddin for a major confrontation with Najib remains to be seen.

Don't expect a groundswell against Najib

Maybe Najib did his homework before the removal of Muhyiddin. As a result, would Najib have something he can use against Muhyiddin, in case the need arises?

As I have commented earlier, the people cannot expect a groundswell against Najib within Umno.

Being a conservative and ethnically-oriented party, Umno places little or no importance on major issues such as corruption, misuse of power, cronyism and nepotism. In fact, the very survival of Umno depends upon these features.

Rather than expecting Muhyiddin to mount a major challenge against Najib, Malaysians must find other democratic avenues to challenge Najib.

Lim Kit Siang of the DAP has called for national consensus and the formation of a broad coalition of forces, both from the government and the opposition, to steer the country out of this present mess.

The nation is experiencing turbulent times. There is both fear and excitement.

Fear that the present crisis might turn into something ugly and push back the gains the country has achieved over the years. Excitement in that many are expecting the present crises to bring about crucial political, social and economic changes for the betterment of Malaysia.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.