Muhyiddin: Emergency needed as Covid-19 worse than war

Former premier Muhyiddin Yassin had said that the Covid-19 fight was "worse than war" but remains optimistic that the country can return as a strong economic force.

In an interview with Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National, the Pagoh MP attempted to justify his unpopular use of the emergency declaration.

"To declare a state of emergency and be granted additional powers was very important to manage the pandemic.

"These special laws had been available for many years, but they were rarely required. It was the first time they were used for this purpose.

"People said these emergency laws were like being at war, but I told them this was worse than a war," he told The National.

Muhyiddin assumed the premiership in March 2020 as one of the chief architects of the Sheraton Move, which saw the democratically elected Pakatan Harapan administration replaced by his own regime.

The king later declared a state of emergency at his request, and Muhyiddin was granted special powers to help tackle the public health crisis.

He resigned in August 2021, with his 17-month tenure making him the shortest-serving prime minister in Malaysian history,

His leadership saw Malaysia plunge into recession, with hundreds of thousands losing their livelihood, companies closing down, and prices going up.

His regime was also criticised for its autocratic practices and double standards in the implementation of Covid-19 punishments.

'I took an unprecedented action'

Muhyiddin himself was constantly embattled due to his razor-thin majority in Parliament, which eventually led to his own resignation.

Despite his government claiming that the emergency would work in countering the pandemic, Malaysia now has 31,781 deaths which is the highest number of deaths per capita in the Asean and East Asian regions, with 963 deaths per one million population.

Now chairing the National Recovery Council, Muhyiddin said he believed a brighter future lay ahead for the nation but did not explain how this might be achieved.

"Every country had their own ideas of how to manage the pandemic based on their own experiences.

"As far as Malaysia was concerned, I took an unprecedented action by imposing a national lockdown. There was nowhere to go.

"At the time there were just 300 cases, and we were unsure about what was going to happen next.

"It was a drastic decision. But Malaysians were concerned about their health and the death rates, so they responded well.

Muhyiddin said the lockdowns eventually became too costly.

"The lockdown was costing us RM2.6 billion a day.

"My governor of the national bank said that if we continued with the lockdown the entire Malaysian banking system would collapse.

"These were the kind of decisions we were forced to make."

"We are still asking questions of our healthcare system in this latest Omicron outbreak of Covid-19," he said.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia was not the only country facing this situation and that regional cooperation could play a role in the recovery process.

"But recovery from the pandemic is hugely important, not just in Malaysia but also as a region.

"The question now is, are we going back to how things were in 2019 or use this as a platform to push Asia higher in the ranking of developed nations?" added the Bersatu president. - Mkini