New Cabinet an old wine in a new bottle, says Wan Azizah

(The Sun Daily) – Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has likened the new Cabinet under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to “an old wine in a new bottle”.

The former deputy prime minister pointed out that many of the leaders who were part of the Federal Government under Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, that was tainted by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, are still there.

She said apart from a select few, including the appointment of Federal Territories mufti Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad as the minister in charge of religious affairs, most of the other names were questionable.

“The list of names (Cabinet) shows that the majority of MPs are from Umno. When the 1MDB crisis unfolded, these same individuals did nothing to help prevent it from falling into a bigger mess.

“I see that the Cabinet is just an old wine in a new bottle. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn into vinegar,” she told Bloomberg in an interview today.

“We don’t want to see corrupt policies and regimes … the same one we actually fought so hard against and the people voted out. This is such a disappointment,” she added.

Wan Azizah said due to these appointments (of Umno leaders from Najib’s era), she does not have high hopes in the Cabinet.

“Muhyiddin said he has vetted the new Cabinet (to ensure they are all clean), but we are seeing otherwise. Whatever it is, we have to wait and see,” she said.

Wan Azizah said she similarly believes the rakyat are also not supportive of the new lineup.

She said while the voters had high expectations and demanded for more rapid changes under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government previously, she opined that they were more willing to give the coalition a chance to (administer longer).

“And then this (change of government happened). The people will be thinking that this new government is not a legitimate one, although it is legal,” she said.