Since the disclosure of their overseas family trip in late 2018, the then PKR deputy president Dato’ Seri Azmin Ali dan UMNO leader Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein have been seen to be very close in spite of their political stance. Their Morocco trip photos captioned “Our families reunited” which were shared by Azmin Ali’s son, Ameer, triggered the curiosity of the general public and politicians alike, particularly on the agenda of such ‘unity’. Not many knew that both of them had been very close until the circulation of the photos and their frequent appearance in formal royal events at the Palace. Nonetheless, the emergence of those photos has caused many to speculate Azmin Ali’s plans to break PKR and merge with UMNO.
Though Azmin Ali assumed the position of the Economic Affairs Minister under Pakatan Harapan (PH) government beginning May 2018, his performance was not up to the par due to the blurry job scope of the new portfolio and the nasty allegations made onto him. Among the most remembered one was the “semburit video clips” that was planted and circulated by Tun Mahathir circulated during the fasting month of 2019. These clips were allegedly ‘filmed’ in a hotel in Sabah, in which the ‘actors’ were allegedly him and former Santubong PKR youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz. Also not to be forgotten, the suit that Azmin Ali received from a travel agency for not paying the overdue ticket costs and hotel reservations amounting to RM329,000.00. More interestingly, the travel agency actually belongs to Haziq Abdullah’s parents. What a joke! Nevertheless, though many of the then opposition leaders from UMNO urged Azmin Ali to step down from the then Cabinet, Hishammuddin Hussein had never said a word against his buddy.
Interestingly, when the Covid-19 pandemic reached Malaysia in early 2020, the nation did not only have to face the outbreak and economic pauses but also a major political shift. More and more revelations of these bosom brothers’ doings, especially the one involving Hishammuddin Hussein bringing some Barisan Nasional (BN) Members of Parliament to meet Azmin Ali in Putrajaya in January 2020. This had caused the UMNO disciplinary board to take disciplinary actions against his doings. However, the disciplinary hearing was cancelled by UMNO president Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi due to an undisclosed reason which led to the resignation of Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali as the party’s disciplinary board chairman. Hishammuddin Hussein proudly claimed that he did nothing wrong by having such a meeting with Azmin Ali. Simultaneously, Azmin Ali’s divorce from PKR along with his loyalists happened and he discreetly fished ‘bigger fishes’ in a treacherous coup called the Sheraton Move involving various parties namely UMNO, PAS, Bersatu and his camp from PKR on 23 February 2020. This coup has led to a power shift that made Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin shine brighter than anyone else. Little that everyone knows, Hishammuddin Hussein and Azmin Ali had stealthily engaged in various deals that led to the current political situation in Malaysia.
Most interestingly, after the Sheraton Move, Azmin Ali has become the most senior minister with a lucrative portfolio as MITI minister, meanwhile, Hishammuddin Hussein has been put into cold storage by being given the non-lucrative Foreign Affairs Minister.
To date, some reliable sources revealed that Azmin Ali had also met Tun Mahathir in Langkawi over the last weekend for some pastry and drinks on undisclosed agenda. The photos of Azmin Ali and his family were seen dining at Tun Mahathr's pastry outlet has raised eyebrows while coincidently, Tun Mahathir was also documented to be in Langkawi and seen visiting the same outlet through a video shared on his social media account.
Now, what really makes these best friends worthy of scrutiny and attention? Are these bosom brothers still together? What is Azmin Ali's next scheme for him to meet Tun Mahathir? What could be Azmin Ali's next action amidst the current political turmoil where it is apparent that Muhyiddin Yassin's Perikatan Nasional (PN) is crumbling and UMNO will take lead through an imminent general election?
By Adilah Jaafar
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