IF what senior minister Mohamed Azmin Ali wanted was fame, he has long been a household name.
He became a national icon even before he clinched the international trade and industry portfolio under the new Perikatan Nasional government.
Needless to say, he is the most infamous face of the “Sheraton move” that toppled the democratically-elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Even though Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was also a key architect of the coup, Azmin is still the first to come to mind whenever one mentions “Sheraton”.
While Azmin’s brazen insubordination to Anwar Ibrahim and to PKR for the past two years was no secret, no one could have imagined that it would finally culminate in such brutal betrayal.
More so when he was one of PKR’s founding members and the party’s deputy president for almost 20 years.
Who would have thought that one of Anwar’s longest-standing allies would ultimately turn on him and bring down a government elected by the people? How’s that for fame?
More than just one of Anwar’s closest men previously, Azmin was also one of PH’s strongest leaders for many years.
He was Selangor menteri besar for four years and economic affairs minister for almost two, making his treachery all the harder to swallow.
Selangor folk won’t be able to forget how the state flourished under his leadership, while his ex-comrades in PH won’t be able to forget that he fought alongside them in the early days.
In addition, he is likely to be one of the least popular MPs among the people now. In fact, “least popular” is probably a gross understatement.
Enraged by his hand in destabilising the nation and engineering PH’s collapse by forming a “backdoor” government with Umno and PAS, many in Azmin’s constituency of Gombak have vowed to vote him out in the next general election.
There are many furious voters out there, and few things stoke the fire more than his outright betrayal of the people’s mandate and of PH.
Azmin also prides himself for being at the forefront in reopening Malaysia’s economy during movement control order (MC), but conveniently forgets how his ministry’s abrupt intervention wrought chaos and confusion during the same period.
On April 10, his ministry announced that any company wanting exemption during the third phase of MCO had to apply for approval via its website.
However, a few days later, the website repeatedly crashed from not being able to cope with site traffic. Most unfortunately, applying online was the only method available.
What’s worth noting is that his ministry’s approval wasn’t required during the first two phases of MCO.
As a result, Azmin and the ministry came under fire for evidently poor coordination with other government ministries and consequently disrupting the operations of essential services sectors that could finally resume normally after being stuck in a rut for one month.
Without a shred of doubt, Azmin was already known pre-MITI, but not for any of the reasons he wants to be remembered for.
Malaysians were so desperate for change in 2018, this hunger is what led them to wholeheartedly rejecting Barisan Nasional and voting PH into power for the very first time, a historic milestone for the country.
Tragically, Azmin’s devastating “Sheraton move” robbed PH of its hard-earned victory and cut the its terms as government into half.
Even if the latter reclaims Putrajaya, Malaysians will always remember Azmin as one of the worst political sell-outs in the nation’s history. – August 23, 2020.
* Lara Ling reads The Malaysian Insight.
* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.
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Comments
Think that's what drove him.
Posted 5 years ago by Watch Dog · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Rupert Lum · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply
Really? The writer should seriously compare his record with that of his predecessor, TSKI.
Truth be told, Azmin spent more time "politicking" than administering Selangor, establishing personal "connections" finally culminating in the Sheraton move.
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Many are wondering what Mahathir saw in Azmin? A mirror reflection of himself?
Posted 5 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply
Azmin was merely 'harvesting' the fruits grown by TSKI.
Unfortunately, TSKI was ousted because of gutter politics.
Posted 5 years ago by Tavern Folks · Reply
Yeah.......
DAP should remember ....
---- how he used the "PKR 5" to "kacau-kacau" the DAP Penang State Assembly?
---- how he tried to ride roughshod and sabotage DAP in the previous Sarawak state election, resulting in DAP losing 5 seats
---- etc
Amanah should remember ....
---- how he demanded an explanation from Kak Wan on why she admitted Amanah into PH?
---- how PKR (under Azmin) boycotted the launch of Sarawak Amanah?
---- etc
Didn't the writer remembers?
Posted 5 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Zainuddin Yusoff · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Jules Fong · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply