Malaysia PM replaces deputy, sacks AG amid scandal

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has warned UMNO members that if left unchecked, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy would cause the party to lose should the General Election be held tomorrow.

“He (Dr Mahathir) is anxious about Najib’s position (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) because he loves Najib…because Najib’s late father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (Malaysia’s second prime minister ) brought him (Dr Mahathir) back into Umno after he was expelled from the party (in the early days of Umno)”.

Announcing the dismissal of Mr Muhyiddin on television, Mr Najib said that differences in opinion were “not supposed to be expressed in an open forum, which is against the concept of collective responsibility in the government”.

Muhyiddin has been replaced by Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, a right-wing politician well liked by members of the United Malays National Organisation party, which has led Malaysian coalition governments since independence in 1957.

Najib has come under mounting pressure over the past year amid a drip-feed of allegations related to 1MDB, which he launched in 2009. The existence of the documents, which allegedly show $700 million was wired from entities linked to 1MDB into Najib’s accounts, were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. He has only said that he has never used government funds for personal gains, and called the allegations a political sabotage.

Fears that it may collapse or need a massive bailout have contributed to a recent slide in the ringgit currency to 17-year lows.

The statement carried by the Bernama news agency said his dismissal was on health grounds.

But the announcements touched off speculation that Najib was moving to contain the damage from the scandal.

“I told him to let go off his post in 1MDB, but he didn’t want to listen”.

The overseas Sarawak Report, an activist website that had also published a series of exposes, has also been blocked.