KUALA LUMPUR – In light of the meeting between opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong tomorrow, the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance has rejected demands to make way in Putrajaya.
PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said in a press statement today that all political parties backing Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration will not switch sides amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This support reflects the PN administration standing together while facing the Covid-19 pandemic and the current economic challenges.
“With the Covid-19 outbreak affecting the world, the PN administration has given its full attention to managing the nation’s economy well and offering the best health services to the people.
“PN calls for the public to stand united and obey the healthcare standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Health Ministry to once again successfully break the Covid-19 infection chain,” said Hamzah.
He also voiced his appreciation for PN’s component parties, Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) for their continued support of the prime minister.
However, Muhyiddin’s administration has received tremendous public backlash following the Sabah state election.
The prime minister himself had conceded that the political campaigning there had led to the resurgence of the disease in the country.
Many of his ministers such as Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri became the target of public ire.
Malaysians had also expressed anger over the perceived double standards enjoyed by PN politicians who violated the SOPs without being punished.
Zulkifli, who was later found to be Covid-19 positive, attended many gatherings and a meeting with high-ranking government officials, including Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
This has caused many officials to observe home quarantine. – The Vibes, October 12, 2020