KUCHING: The present state of emergency in the country is not used as a weapon by Perikatan Nasional (PN) to cling on to power, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Willie Mongin insisted.
To him the purpose is to allow the government to battle the Covid-19 pandemic while looking after the socio-political harmony and economic well-being of the people.
“The emergency must not be seen as a way for the government to maintain its power. The government side has three more MPs that the opposition, so it is not scared of being toppled,” he said in a press conference after giving a briefing at a Malaysia Prihatin programme at Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) headquarters today (April 10).
The Puncak Borneo MP from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) reminded everyone that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had stated clearly that he will dissolve the Parliament once the pandemic has been defeated.
“Therefore, I urged the people not to be influenced by accusations by certain parties and negative public perceptions regarding the emergency,” he said.
He pointed that the national Emergency Committee has members from the opposition who are free to share their views on what is best for the country.
“When this pandemic is over, the people can choose a government that is stable because investors won’t want to risk their money in a chaotic country,” he said.
Besides that, he said it was important that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continue to rise.
“The approaches and steps taken by the government always follow proper evaluation and weighing of the best options as a result of the country’s own research as well as the sharing of data and information with other countries,” he said.
Regarding lockdown, he said it was impossible to do it completely as the country has to achieve a balance between public health safety and economic wellbeing.
“Not only do we want the people to be safe from Covid-19; we also want them to be hungry,” he said.
