COMMENT Not many people knew that former Maybank chief executive officer Abdul Wahid Omar has apparently quietly abandoned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s cabinet.

Although he has never mentioned the true reason why he did not choose to be re-appointed as minister in the Prime Minister’s department in June this year, the tell-tale signs are there.

On April 26, Wahid had told CNBC that the “financial structure of Malaysian state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was unsustainable from the very start.”

For that, I can imagine Najib giving him an ‘F’ grade. Najib would have expected Wahid to toe the line, and to tell the rest of the world that 1MDB was on the right track and moving in the same direction. Based on his background, Wahid would be a totally different species compared to Salleh Said Keruak, Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Azalina Othman Said.

Wahid is probably the first and only cabinet minister to mention his real views since the news about 1MDB scandal was published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). At least, he has the guts to stand up for what he believes in, or rather, in my opinion, it was ‘enough is enough’ for the former corporate man.

His press interview with CNBC had clearly shown that Wahid is not one who would be ready to whitewash Najib and the 1MDB scandal the way some junior ministers would do.

The former economic planning minister subtly took up his new job as an Uber driver as reported in The Star. The ordinary thinking person with a little more grey matter would have picked up the cue from the news report that there is something more than what appears on the surface. Why would he rather be an Uber driver than to be in Najib’s cabinet?

Wahid’s departure was quiet, but Najib’s own reputation would be dented further if more cabinet ministers seek not to continue with their term. And, what if there are one or two in the likes of a more vocal Zaid Ibrahim?

After all, Najib’s strategy to consolidate his position would be to change his cabinet members every few years to ensure that no one remains in a position strong enough to challenge his presidency in the next Umno election.

Time to abandon the ship

With the cabinet reshuffle round the corner, it is about time for people who have strong principles like Idris Jala to also call it a day, especially after international investigators have opened up the can of worms on Najib’s 1MDB scandal.

Idris can always return to MAS, and his time would probably be better spent there where he can do a better job than the various transformation plans that he had crafted, but we hardly even hear of them any more these days!

At the same time, there are no reasons for others like Paul Low to continue staying in the cabinet. Low, in particular, has always claimed that his was a “divine” appointment, which I personally find it hard to reconcile especially when he continues to do the whitewashing job instead of making sure that the level of corruption in this country is being reduced significantly.

I have always said that Low cannot compare or elevate himself to the level of biblical characters such as Nehemiah and Daniel. Although they were in the service of kings who were basically brutal conquerors, their circumstances were different as they were a nation in exile, which left them with no option of quitting their service in the palace.

Low is free to choose whether to stay on or leave the cabinet, and maybe, this week is a good time to express his desire to retire from the cabinet, in order to salvage whatever reputation and credibility that he still has.

What about Zahid’s position?

As the new cabinet line-up is unfolded, it would be interesting to see where Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi stands in contrast to Najib’s own cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein.

There are signs that Zahid may challenge Najib’s position. The former appears to have made an indirect but sarcastic remark about the latter’s wife recently at an event attended by journalists.

In fact, it is interesting to note that not even Zahid as Najib’s own deputy knows what is on Najib’s mind about the cabinet reshuffle.

Therefore, former New Straits Times chief A Kadir Jasin may be right in his observations that Najib is training his guns on his deputy.

If this is the case, it is likely that Hishammuddin would be picked as the new deputy prime minister. The good natured Hishammuddin has a better disposition and reputation, compared to Zahid, to be ‘used’ as the next Adenan Satem in the coming general election.

By now, Najib would have learnt from the Sarawak state election how the Adenan factor could make a difference in the outcome of the election. Hishammuddin would fit the mould better than Zahid, whose own background may be questionable.

Zahid comes across as someone who has integrity issues that need to be dealt with, especially after it came to broad daylight two years ago that he had written a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in support of Paul Phua, which the Malaysian police claimed they knew nothing about.

In the letter, Zahid had claimed that Phua, an online gambling kingpin high on FBI’s wanted list, had contributed to the country’s security. When Zahid did not elaborate further about Phua’s specific contributions, whether in cash or in kind, it left a ‘not-so-good’ impression of the country’s Number Two.

However, as some pundits have pointed out, the feeling of insecurity by Najib could be due to Zahid’s sterling performance in the last two by-elections and the paranoia that there could be a coup against Najib.

In my opinion, should Zahid replace Najib, he would be better off picking Mukhriz Mahathir than Muhyiddin Yassin or Hishamuddin as his deputy. If this is already on the backburner, Najib would have to consolidate his position first in order to fend off any possible coup.

But, certainly a cabinet reshuffle would have to be more than just to ‘fill in the vacancies of several portfolios’. The Malay word for ‘reshuffle’, or ‘rombak’ appears more dramatic in nature compared to just filling in a few vacancies. After all, there are only two ministerial posts and a deputy minister post.

I think Najib would have to purge some of the cabinet ministers who have been on his cabinet for a number of years, but are beginning to sense that they are doubtful of his integrity. What they read in the news highlighting the findings by international investigators, and comparing it with Najib’s own explanation, some may find it too ‘mind-boggling.’

After all, to safeguard himself, Najib would have to consolidate his position in order to remain in power and to ride over the tides of the 1MDB scandal.

Whatever it is, it would be interesting to watch what happens this time around with the cabinet reshuffle.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.