Umno veep on Muhyiddin: Changing govt during crisis justified if it has failed

 

Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin has maintained that changing the government during a time of crisis was justified if the government had failed to manage the crisis and is expected to continue to fail.

He said this amid criticism against Umno for pulling out its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is not strange that for many countries around the world, changing leaders during a crisis is not only justified but even necessary.

"Especially if a leader has failed to navigate the crises and has lost the confidence of the people let alone support from the lawmakers," Khaled (above) said.

He also gave several examples where leaders have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Last January, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was forced to resign after the Italian Viva party led by Matteo Renzi withdrew from his government coalition due to his failure to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to causing the worst economic downturn after World War II.

"In August last year, the Polish health minister and foreign minister resigned after being severely criticised for failing to manage the pandemic.

"A similar situation was seen in Slovakia in March when President Zuzana Caputova replaced Prime Minister Igor Matovic and promoted Finance Minister Edward Heger as his successor when the country recorded one of the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world.

"All of these are among the examples of leader changes, either voluntarily or fired or implications of the loss of support during a pandemic period," he said in a statement.

Khaled acknowledged that some have argued that politics should be set aside so that full attention can be given to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, he said this notion was not entirely accurate.

"This is because the basis of such optimism rests on the assumption that those given the responsibility to manage the pandemic are most qualified and able to bring about the anticipated recovery.

"Unfortunately, that is not the case in the context of Umno's withdrawal of support for this prime minister this time around. The prime minister has clearly failed to effectively manage the Covid-19 crises.

"The nation's economy is worsening. The nation’s health emergency continues to escalate frighteningly. The frontliners are drained out of their lives. The national health system is reaching maximum capacity and is at risk of being critically overwhelmed.

"The livelihood of the people is getting drastically crushed and depressed. More importantly, all of this took place during the protracted period of the movement control order and the emergency which effectively put our democracy on hold," he said.

Khaled said through Umno's withdrawal of support, it was expected that the Perikatan Nasional government will realise that their strategies have failed miserably.

"That it is absurd to continue to stick with the same plan or approach," he said.

Khaled said it was also an opportunity to re-evaluate the prime minister's majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

He added that it showed Umno's seriousness in looking out for the people and overcome the trust deficit in the government.

"After witnessing a severe government trust deficit evident by people-centred movement such as #BenderaPutih, a new leader could certainly bring with him fresh hope and expectations.

"Thus, different strategies, approaches and more radical plans are needed more than ever.

"Whatever views and perceptions that arose from Umno's withdrawal of support, the fact of the matter is that a change of leader in a period of crisis is not something strange and irresponsible," he said. - Mkini