Dr Mahathir empowering Azmin to keep Anwar in check, says report

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 9 Jun 2018 10:15AM · 7 Comments

PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is giving Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali wide powers over critical government-linked companies to neutralise the influence of Anwar Ibrahim, the Straits Times reports.

The Singapore daily news outlet said the PM’s move could strengthen Azmin’s position while checking Anwar’s within PKR, of which Anwar is the de facto leader.

Azmin and PKR colleague Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is housing and local government minister, are said to be members of rival camp against Anwar and his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. 

Quoting sources, the report said the Economic Affairs portfolio oversees sovereign wealth funds Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, as well as national oil company Petronas. The three companies with an estimated worth of RM1 trillion were previously the purview of  Ministry of Finance Inc during the Barisan Nasional administration.

There is also talk that agencies in charge of Malay/Muslim welfare, such as the Tabung Haji and Felda will be placed under Azmin’s ministry, the report said.

“The scope is so wide that earlier plans to place International Trade and Industry under MEA will likely be ditched,” said a source was quoted as saying. 

“The manoeuvres by Dr Mahathir, who fended off several challenges to his leadership during his first tenure as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, are seen as just another strategy from his divide-and-conquer playbook,” said the report.

Dr Mahathir heads the government after May 9. His party Bersatu won 13 parliamentary seats compared with PKR’s 49. Both parties are components of the Pakatan Harapan.

PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was named deputy prime minister but the party was left out when it came to the education, finance, defence and home affairs portfolios, all of which are senior ministries, the paper said.

Since his release from prison, Anwar has become the intermediary between the new government and the Malay rulers who still have some say in the filling of key institutional posts.

Anwar has said that his meetings with the Malay rulers had been held to explain to them  government policies and to debunk fears the PH administration would sideline the sultans and the Malays.

Anwar has also refuted claims he is secretly undermining the work of the prime minister, which many believe had occurred the first time the two of them were in Umno and the cabinet, when Dr Mahathir was PM and he was DPM. – June 9, 2018.

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Comments

  • Brilliant TUN M! Anwar should've known that. So the advice for Anwar is to keep low profile until your time arrives.

    Posted 5 years ago by Awang Top · Reply

  • This report cannot be taken seriously. What is it trying to drive at?

    Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • Both Anwar and Azmin CANNOT be trusted. They are Machiavellian politicians, ruthlessly manipulating and using others to achieve their ambitions (while pretending to be goody-goody), besides still having a lot of UMNO's DNA left in themselves. Nuff said.

    Posted 5 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • There will be thoughts of political agenda personal and party. IT IS POLITICS after all. But fact of the matter is Anwar will be next PM in two years. The jostling and manouvre will be for the next after Anwar. Azmin obviously gunning to be after Anwar and Anwar of course will arrange what he think best. No matter who, in the end, unlike before, the rakyat will have a say...

    Posted 5 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • The Singapore govt has a hidden agenda. They want to see the PH govt fail. MI should know better than to publish such articles.

    Posted 5 years ago by Selangor Rakyat · Reply

  • This is the second article I've read from MI and I find this very disturbing. Who is actually behind MI? What hidden agenda do you have? The PH govt is just a month old, and you people are trying to stir things up. Who are you people actually?

    Posted 5 years ago by Noli Atan · Reply

  • Can't stand Anwar anymore.

    Posted 5 years ago by Chin Tu Lan · Reply