‘Umno’s decision to withdraw support shows PN not government of choice’
MIRI: The decision by Umno to withdraw support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin clearly shows that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is not a government of choice, Senator Alan Ling Sie Kiong said.
He added that Muhyiddin failed to secure Umno’s support despite offering them numerous positions, not only in the Cabinet but also in government-linked companies (GLCs).
“Apart from cabinet, ministerial and GLC posts to please them (Umno), he still failed to garner their full support and failed to have a stable government,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.
In view of that, he said it was time for Muhyiddin and PN to give way to a new and better government that will be able to steer the country back on track, as well as save it from the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now is the time for us to think of a new government that actually has consensus among its cabinet members and is more involved with the rakyat, which core objective is to save Malaysia,” Ling stressed.
He added that not only was PN under Muhyiddin’s leadership not a government of choice, but it was also not a valid government as it was not voted through a democratic process by the voters.
“Because of that, Muhyiddin’s leadership is more like a ‘marriage of convenience’. They sleep on the same bed but have different dreams. They are not working towards the same objective.
“All we see is overloaded cabinet members comprising more than 70 ministers and deputy ministers,” he said.
He described Muhyiddin’s move in implementing a state of emergency as a way to save himself but that also did not do him any good.
“The state of emergency enforced in January this year is obviously a way to avoid facing the parliament. If I was a minister, I would prefer to attend parliament sittings as it is one of the best ways to answer questions about my ministry or the government I’m leading. During parliament sitting, we can debate on how to better the country and find the best solutions to any problem the country is facing. But that’s not the case with our current PM.
“Why is he (Muhyiddin) worried (to have parliament sitting)? Because he knows that they (PN) do not have a strong majority. So he uses Covid-19 as an excuse to declare a state of emergency.
“We have seen statistics. Statistics won’t lie. It shows average of more than 6,000 Covid19 cases. In fact today (yesterday) was more than 8,000 cases and the accumulated number of death is almost 6,000 so far since the pandemic started here about 18 months ago.
“The number of Covid-19 cases is not going down during this state of emergency because its objective is just to (benefit) PN leaders,” claimed Ling, who is also Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak secretary.
He said Malaysia is now at a crossroads, thus the Prime Minister should think carefully and leave it to parliament to decide on a better political pattern for the country.
“Whether by the opposition or the present alliance, right now the mission of the new government (once formed) must be to save Malaysia and Malaysians from this horrible Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is time we are guided by the constitution and the five principles of the Rukun Negara, and find ways to better combat Covid-19 before it destroys our economy and the people of Malaysia,” he said.
Ling added that he looks forward to a new government that is represented by all parties in the parliament and that is able to fight the Covid-19 pandemic effectively.
“We have given this ‘back-door’ government more than a year. They have declared a state of emergency. But until today, we have not seen its positive effect and the people are angry as well as tired of waiting,” said Ling further.