'PN has no manifesto, but it doesn't mean it has no accountability'

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin conceded that his government does not have an election manifesto after coming to power through unconventional means.

However, he stressed, this does not mean that his administration is not accountable to the people.

“Without a manifesto, I’d suppose it would be difficult to evaluate the government’s achievements. It would not be possible to list each promise that has been delivered and each that has yet to be fulfilled.

“It is good there is no manifesto, since I can do what I like (for the benefit of the people). Previously (under Pakatan Harapan) there was a manifesto but it was not implemented.

“However, this does not mean that I can act willy-nilly. Not having a manifesto does not mean no accountability. Accountability as a leader is still there,” Muhyiddin said at the “Half-a-Year of the PN Administration” convention in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Also speaking at the convention were PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin and Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fahysal Wan Ahmad Kamal.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the party’s Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki were scheduled to speak at the event but they did not turn up.

Muhyiddin said he had accepted his appointment as prime minister to carry out his responsibility to the people.

“I am responsible to the people. The ministers I appoint are also responsible to the people.

“If we fail to carry out our responsibilities properly, we will be questioned by the people. That is the most important principle,” he said.

In his speech, he said his administration faced its greatest test in the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the crisis is unprecedented in Malaysia and across the world, but with the tenacity of the government, the support of frontliners, civil servants and volunteers, and the people’s discipline, the nation was up to the challenge.

PM felt compelled to provide an economic safety net

Muhyiddin said that as a prime minister responsible to the people, he could not allow the crisis to run its course, and he felt compelled to provide an economic safety net for the people.

Thus, he said, he had asked Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz to help find sources of revenue for the country as he could not bear to deliver the bad news that the government has no money while the people suffer.

“The finance minister reported back to me, ‘Yes sir, we have money’. I said, ‘All right, let’s use it to lighten their burden’,” he said.

“This is the money used by the government to provide various kinds of financial aid to the people through economic stimulus packages totalling RM295 billion.

“Many have benefited from various kinds of help channelled by the government and they are grateful for it,” he added.

Muhyiddin also said that his government did not have the luxury of a honeymoon period after coming to power in March.

Thus, it had hit the ground running by functioning as a government and working day and night to champion the people’s needs.

“We didn’t have time for a honeymoon as a new government. There was no honeymoon period for all of us.

“We worked as rulers functioning at any given time,” he said. - Mkini