Umno’s Muhyiddin decision not about elections, says Zahid

 

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the prime minister’s successor would focus on the welfare of the people.

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed accusations that the party retracted its support for Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister in order to push for a general election to be held in the midst of a pandemic.

Last week, Zahid had also called for Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as prime minister, saying that a new prime minister would focus on the welfare of the people throughout the pandemic

He said today that an interim prime minister would take a more inclusive approach in combating Covid-19 and speeding up the pace of vaccinations.

Once herd immunity towards Covid-19 is achieved, only then would the interim prime minister advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to call for elections, Zahid said.

Zahid said a general election was vital, for a mandate from the people to form a stable government, which he said would be needed for the country to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.

In a Facebook posting today, he said: “Where did this talk – about Umno retracting support (for Muhyiddin) so the 15th general election can be held while a pandemic is raging – come from?”

Umno in the early hours of Thursday officially withdrew its support for Muhyiddin as the prime minister, saying the government had failed to fulfil the requirements that the party had set to justify its backing for his administration.

This evening, Zahid again listed the seven “sins” committed by the government, including failing to manage the pandemic, abusing the Emergency ordinance and failing to manage the economy. - FMT