Muhyiddin talks about Anwar

SINGAPORE, Aug 13 — He might not carry the firebrand reputation of his predecessor Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

But Malaysia’s new Minister for International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin — who, until recently, had been widely speculated to make a bid for the post of Umno’s president or deputy president — did not need much prompting to criticise his government’s chief nemesis Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a “self-glorified” spin-doctor on “an agenda to put Malaysia in the doldrums”.

“We are now dealing with the serious issue of managing our economy ... we are running this job seriously. Of course, there are people who couldn’t care so much. Anwar Ibrahim is one particular person.”

Muhyiddin was speaking at a press conference held yesterday after the annual seminar here to promote business opportunities in Malaysia. He had been asked to what extent Anwar's publicised bid to topple the government has given investors the jitters.

Describing Anwar's plans to become the next Prime Minister as "an obsession", the minister added: "That is his business. While that is so, our immediate interest is to protect the safety of our people."

While it was his first visit to Singapore in his latest capacity, Muhyiddin, who used to be Johor's Menteri Besar and has held various Cabinet portfolios, is an influential and outspoken figure across the Causeway.

The political veteran was the only top gun in the Malaysian Cabinet to criticise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's plans to hand over power to deputy Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

And just last month, former Premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad backed Muhyiddin over Najib to succeed Abdullah.

However, Muhyiddin said last week that he would seek to remain as Umno's vice-president during the December party polls so that he could play a role in helping with the succession plan.

Not one to mince his words, Muhyiddin was also asked whether his recent comments that "money politics" has seeped into Umno's branches was an affront to Abdullah's leadership, which he had described as "weak" on previous occasions.

Muhyiddin replied: "It does not really reflect on one or two persons' leadership. I'm not going to say something to please people. When things are not well, you say it so that people recognise what needs to be done."

Earlier, the spectre of Anwar loomed large during the seminar, which was attended by some 1,000 Singaporean businessmen who raised other perennial concerns including the Causeway jam, Johor crime rates and the effectiveness of the Malaysian judiciary.

David Gerald, president of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore, expressed anxiety over Malaysia's political turmoil.

Said Gerald: "Every morning when I read the newspapers, I see a man saying he's going to take over the government. Things coming out of Malaysia are not that good at the moment and the present government may not be in power in September."

It was a question Muhyiddin had come prepared for.

"We are also puzzled. Every day, we read the newspapers too," said Muhyiddin, as he cast doubts on Anwar's claim of toppling the government by getting the Barisan Nasional's Members of Parliament to cross over to the opposition.

He added that feedback from the ruling coalition's supreme council — which comprise the leaders of all the component parties — indicates that Anwar's plans to get MPs to cross over "is not going to happen".

Said Muhyiddin: "The spinning of these stories is dangerous. He keeps moving the date ... from August to September.

"This is a democracy. We have accepted the decision of the people. Anwar will have to respect that. If he wants to be Prime Minister, he should wait another four years for the next elections."

-TMI