PETALING JAYA: A general election should be held if the current prime minister cannot manage the economy and country well.
This was said by the former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after reading a report carried by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research in December 2021 and research done by Mindshare (a non-government organisation).
According to him, the report stated that 12 per cent of the ‘rakyat’ have started to ‘ikat perut’ by eating once or twice a day, 12 per cent postponed their medical treatment, and 31 per cent pay their debt much later as they have financial problems.
Meanwhile, he said that the research stated that 61 per cent of Malaysians are in the lowest income group (household income below RM5,000 per month) after the pandemic hit, while 76 per cent of this group earn less than RM3,000.
“The fall of the ringgit, the rise in inflation and the post-pandemic economic situation have had a negative impact on the rakyat’s lives.
“As the National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman, I have voiced my concerns and submitted several MPN recommendations to the government to bolster economic recovery, such as another round of loan moratoriums for small and medium enterprises and simplifying the loan application process for businesses.
“Many businesses have been forced to downsize or shut down operations because of a labour shortage,” he said on his Facebook page today.
He stated that this was an issue raised at every MPN meeting, though there had yet to be any comprehensive solutions.
“Moreover, the fall of the ringgit is also not taken seriously. The prime minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob) has not come forward to explain measures being taken to curb this fall. In fact, he said that this isn’t a big problem.
“Apparently, Malaysia is not in a crisis, (it is) as if everything is okay. But I know that not everything is okay out there,” he said.
Following this, Muhyiddin stated that Malaysia imports most of the food items, and last year, the value of food imports alone reached RM63 billion.
“If the value of the ringgit continues to fall, the price of food items will become more expensive. Is this okay? No, it’s not okay.
“As it seems, it shows that the prime minister does not consider these issues urgent.
“Nevertheless, as Perikatan Nasional chairman, I have instructed the party machinery to continue helping people in need, including distributing food baskets to those in need and organising the Jualan Prihatin Programme, which offers daily necessities at low prices,” he said.
In light of this, he said that he had yet to come to the point of urging Ismail to dissolve Parliament, however, Barisan Nasional had been doing so repeatedly this year.
“But when I look at it, I do think that if the prime minister fails to manage the economy and country well, it’s best that a general election be held so that a new government that is capable and free of corruption can be elected by the people,” he said.
