KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s National Recovery Council (NRC) is destined to fail due to its lack of autonomy and running counter to the suggestions mooted by Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said his son.
Party president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir in a statement said the set-up proposed by his father includes autonomy, allowing it to serve as a substitute to the cabinet’s executive power.
NRC is supposed to answer to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and gather views and suggestions from Parliament, he said.
“The NRC announced yesterday, and chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is far off from the one proposed by Dr Mahathir.
“The NRC proposed by Pejuang would function to combat the Covid-19 crisis that the government has failed to resolve.
“So, when Muhyiddin was named chairman, the purpose of the council became no longer relevant.”
Yesterday, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced the formation of the council to oversee the implementation of the National Recovery Plan.
Dr Mahathir, when mooting NRC recently, said it should be a non-partisan and independent body with the authority to help the people in carrying out the work needed to handle the health crisis, without representatives from political parties.
Mukhriz said having the council chaired by Muhyiddin is confusing, and that it does not carry the original spirit and aspirations of the body proposed by Dr Mahathir.
“As prime minister, Muhyiddin had the biggest Budget in the history of the country, launched various approaches to combat Covid-19, while advising the Agong to declare an emergency.
“This is so that the Perikatan Nasional government can do what it wants freely, without interruption by Parliament or restrictions by the federal constitution.
“And yet, he (Muhyiddin) failed to stop the spread of the virus and has caused increasing deaths. The people are living under pressure, with suicides on the rise.
“How can the rakyat hope to see a change if a leader who is proven to have failed like Muhyiddin leads NRC? The council can succeed only if it does not involve anyone from this failed government.”
Malaysia yesterday recorded 12,541 Covid-19 cases and 115 deaths. – The Vibes, July 17, 2021
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