We've lost tens of billions, don't take too long to end crisis – PAS to Dr M

PAS is hoping that interim Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will resolve the current political crisis as soon as possible.

Party vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdull noted how the situation is taking an adverse toll on the nation's economy.

“We hope Mahathir as the interim premier does not take too long to resolve this problem.

“Yesterday alone, the nation lost tens of billions of ringgit because of this crisis... We expect this issue to be solved latest by tomorrow,” he told reporters in Kota Bahru this afternoon.

Bursa Malaysia ended in the red yesterday, the lowest in eight years, due to the political wrangling.

At close, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 2.68 percent or 41.14 points lower compared with Friday’s close of 1,531.20.

The market capital for the day was recorded at RM986.14 billion with money flow of RM25.50 billion. Throughout the day, the index moved between 1,485.71 to 1,510.42 after opening at 1,501,47.

On the scoreboard, losers outpaced gainers 1,015 to 137 with 222 unchanged, 625 untraded and 21 counters suspended.

Turnover, meanwhile, almost doubled to 4.03 billion worth RM3.90 billion compared with 2.73 billion shares worth RM2.14 billion on Friday.

This morning's session witnessed Bursa Malaysia ending in positive territory after a rebound by government-linked stocks which pushed the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to end higher at lunch break.

Meanwhile, Mohd Amar, who is also Kelantan deputy menteri besar, said the PAS-ruled state is not affected by the political upheaval in Putrajaya, which has landed Pakatan Harapan-controlled states in a conundrum.

“Kelantan is not affected. The only thing is that many dealings cannot be carried out due to the absence of ministers (at the federal level),” he added.

Earlier, Mohd Amar said PAS, which has 18 parliament seats, has the potential of being part of the federal government.

However, he stressed that PAS and Umno would not accept being part of the government if it included DAP as well.

As for joining hands with Amanah, which is a PAS splinter party, Mohd Amar said there has been no final decision on this. - Mkini