Kit Siang sees CSA slipping away amid talk PM will appoint Najib as adviser

 

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang sees the proposed confidence and supply agreement (CSA) between the government and opposition slipping away.

Lim said this followed a series of questionable decisions by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the most recent being the possible appointment of ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak as an economic adviser.

The Iskandar Puteri MP previously warned that the deal could be in jeopardy if the new prime minister refused to undergo a confidence vote to affirm his majority.

Since then, he said more questionable decisions have followed.

"The stakes have been further raised against such a historic agreement with the unilateral announcement of ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as the National Recovery Council (NRC) chairperson as the CSA reform agreement presupposed a more consultative approach in the worsening war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Now there is talk that a former prime minister responsible for turning Malaysia into a kleptocracy would be appointed with ministerial rank as economic adviser to the prime minister.

"It would appear that the possibility of a historic breakthrough in reaching a CSA reform accord between the government and opposition in Parliament so that all Malaysians can single-mindedly focus on winning the losing war against the Covid-19 pandemic until the 15th General Election would not be an achievable goal," he said in a statement.

Lim also expressed scepticism at Muhyiddin's announcements as the new NRC chair, noting that the measures he unveiled were no different from when he was the prime minister.

Muhyiddin presided over a tumultuous prime ministership tenure that saw the number of Covid-19 cases swell from 33 on his first day in office on March 1 last year to 1,424,639 when he resigned last month on Aug 16.

A total of 12,784 people have also died from Covid-19 during the period. - Mkini