KUALA LUMPUR – The National Recovery Council (NRC) might as well be disbanded if statements from its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, particularly those on border reopening, does not reflect the government’s final decision, said DAP’s Teo Nie Ching.
The Kulai MP questioned the regard given towards Muhyiddin’s recommendations, whose appointment as NRC’s chairman is of ministerial status, after Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein denied the country’s borders would be reopened on March 1 as Muhyiddin had proposed yesterday.
“Such statements by the defence minister are as though it belittles the suggestions made by NRC, especially after their recommendations were spread all over the media.
“It also belittles the NRC’s function, which by right should be presenting strategies and roadmaps out of the pandemic phase,” Teo wrote in a statement today.
Commenting on Hishammuddin’s response during a press conference yesterday, she said it had sparked questions of whether the cabinet and the NRC were in tandem and even communicated with each other or was it an indicator of future back-and-forth between government heads over policy decisions.
The former deputy education minister noted how Muhyiddin’s compensation as NRC chairman was equivalent to that of a federal minister and questioned if the government only appointed him as the council’s head to pacify his demands following his resignation as prime minister.
“Let it not be for intentions of trying to appease him or for political mileage that the government formed the NRC and positioned him as the chairperson.
“If his suggestions are mere lip service, it would be better to disband the NRC and fire Muhyiddin as its chairman so that federal funds allocated to the council can be saved,” she added.
Yesterday, following Muhyiddin’s recommendations, Hishammuddin asserted the NRC’s proposal still needs to be studied by relevant ministries and government departments. – The Vibes, February 9, 2022
