KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has taken another shot at chastising his successor Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for failing to address the economic slide being experienced by the country.
Muhyiddin, who is Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, said Ismail Sabri should not act “as if everything is normal” with the nation’s economy and must instead form a high-level committee to arrest the situation while steering the nation back to better times.
He pointed out that the country’s overall household income has shrunk since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citing a recent survey conducted by a non-governmental organisation, Muhyiddin, who is also the National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman, said the country’s poverty rate has risen from 40% to 61%.
Meanwhile, the M40 (middle 40%) household income group consists of less than 20% of the population while the T20 (top 20%) group has been reduced to no more than 10% of the nation’s people.
“What does this mean? This is a great challenge to the country. That is why the government cannot act as if this is normal. It is unusual.
“By right there should be a high-level committee that is chaired by none other than the prime minister.
“I’m not trying to teach anyone but take it as a matter of great importance,” he said in a speech during an event celebrating Bersatu’s anniversary today. Muhyiddin is Bersatu’s president.
“They (the committee) should convene every week if not every day to resolve, and look at the approach taken by each ministry to resolve the problems faced by the people, and it must be done quickly.”
Last Monday, Muhyiddin had urged Ismail Sabri to call for fresh elections if he cannot manage the economy.
In a Facebook post, Muhyiddin said he was concerned over the government’s lack of a comprehensive solution to lift the country out of its economic doldrums.
This led Ismail Sabri, who is also vice-president of Umno, to respond later that if his administration had failed then the NRC-led by Muhyiddin had failed as well.
Ismail Sabri said this is because managing the economy is a shared responsibility of the administration.
Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin reiterated that Barisan Nasional remains PN’s main enemy to face in the upcoming general election.
Muhyiddin said the previous PN government had done all it could in a bid to “save the country” which was facing unprecedented challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. – The Vibes, September 24, 2022
