Muhyiddin to take over should Najib take leave of absence, analysts say

KUALA LUMPUR — Convention dictates that Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will take over as interim Prime Minister should Prime Minister Najib Razak take a leave of absence following investigations into a US$700 million (S$945 million) transaction allegedly wired from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) into his personal accounts, analysts have said.

Former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah explained that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong would be in charge of appointing Mr Najib’s replacement among the existing Member of Parliaments (MPs) which is likely to be the UMNO president’s second-in-command.

“If Prime Minister Najib is to take a leave of absence, the interim prime minister must be appointed by the Agong from among the MPs who, according to him, enjoys the support of the majority of MPs.

“In this context, Muhyiddin would possibly be the candidate as he is Deputy Chair of BN (Barisan Nasional) who controls the majority of Dewan Rakyat,” he said in a text message to Malay Mail Online.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) political scientist Dr Faisal Hazis added that according to Malaysia’s parliamentary system, Mr Najib would have to receive a vote of no confidence from his fellow MPs before a replacement can be selected from within the Dewan Rakyat.

“For the Parliamentary system, if let’s say Najib loses the confidence then there should be a vote of no confidence in Parliament to unseat it. Then Parliament will choose a new candidate, that’s how the parliamentary system works,” he said in a phone interview with Malay Mail Online.

He too said, however, that Mr Najib’s replacement would likely be Mr Muhyiddin as well.

“Traditionally, the second man in UMNO, if it is Barisan Nasional, will have that right to be prime minister,” he said.

University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin echoed Mr Saifuddin and Dr Faisal’s sentiment, adding that it was not out of the ordinary for prime ministers to take leaves of absences after Dr Mahathir Mohamad did the same during his tenure.

“Going on leave is normal. Mahathir once took 6 weeks off, no problem,” he said in an email to Malay Mail Online.

Mr Chin added that the civil service will likely be unaffected despite Mr Najib’s possible leave of absence as it was a “permanent service”.

Lead economist with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Jayant Menon also weighed in on the matter, saying that Putrajaya would benefit from resolving the issue quick to ensure that the country’s economy remains intact.

“From an economic point of view, it would be best if this matter could be resolved as quickly as possible.

“Any ongoing uncertainty will fuel further instability in the economy,” Mr Menon said in an email response to Malay Mail Online.

On Friday (July 3), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that 1MDB investigators have discovered five separate deposits from two sources that were allegedly made into Mr Najib’s accounts, citing government documents that it claimed to have viewed.

The largest two transactions, it said, were for US$621 million and US$61 million allegedly made in March 2013, shortly before the tumultuous Election 2013 in May.

A further transfer of RM42 million (S$15 million), purportedly made into Mr Najib’s account at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, is believed to have come from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB that was in 2012 parked under the Finance Ministry that Mr Najib heads, WSJ said.

Malaysian authorities are investigating the alleged money trail that involves several companies that purportedly channelled the funds to Mr Najib’s bank accounts, including SRC International, Ihsan Perdana and Gandingan Mentari. THE MALAY MAIL ONLINE