KOTA KINABALU,Mar 22 – Politics is the least of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s concerns, as he feels that the majority of Malaysians have become fed up with the instability created by political detractors.
Speaking during his official visit to Sabah today, the prime minister said the situation is affecting potential investors, who are anxious about such instability.
Admitting that he is often questioned about why he refuses to respond to the constant political pressure on him, he said the reality is that the people are “muak” (fed up) and “meluat” (annoyed).
Muhyiddin stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic and economy take priority over politics.
“What we want to create at the national level is a sense of stability… We need others to be involved as they are also part of the solution to stabilise the situation in the country.”
However, he acknowledged that he is not too proud of how Perikatan Nasional rose to power last year on the back of a political crisis – in reference to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government, which was precipitated by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister.
Muhyiddin said the country needs investments to sustain itself, but investors are discouraged by the present-day uncertainty.
“Due to the uncertainty arising from the political instability, investors are rethinking their options over and over again, on whether they want to invest in Malaysia.
“They would be thinking: what if there’s a change of government again, what if the officers are no longer there?” he said during a town hall at the Sabah Administrative Building here.
He was responding to a question by a participant in a dialogue session titled “Shared Prosperity Vision 2030”.
The only solution is to hold elections, he said, adding that he will return the mandate to the people when the time is right.
“Similar to the decision made by Sabah to hold their election in September last year. I congratulate Gabungan Rakyat Sabah for winning the election.”
The Pagoh MP emphasised that only a little over six million people in Malaysia have registered to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Sabah is reportedly the state with the lowest number of registrants.
To speed up the inoculation drive, Muhyiddin proposed that the government set a vaccination deadline that must be adhered to by each registered individual.
Malaysia is targeting 80% of the population vaccinated by early next year, attaining herd immunity.
