KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stepped down as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister as he has lost the majority support of Dewan Rakyat Members of Parliament (MPs), subsequently dissolving the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Cabinet.
During his national address in the afternoon, Muhyiddin, who had been in office for 17 months, said he previously suggested that his legitimacy be determined in Parliament, although 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for PN, while his proposal for cross-party cooperation was rejected by opposition parties.
“I could have taken the easy way out at the expense of my principles to remain as the prime minister. But that's not my choice.
“I will never conspire with kleptocratic groups, interfere with the independence of the judiciary system and turn my back on the Federal Constitution simply to stay in power,” he said.
He recounted that he was sacked as the deputy prime minister because of his uncompromising stance against the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) fiasco.
Muhyiddin added that being the prime minister was tough, especially at the time when the nation was in an unprecedented health crisis that led to an economic crisis.
Muhyiddin acknowledged that it is clear that he has lost majority support and therefore no longer needs to prove his legitimacy as the prime minister.
“I have done everything I could to save the PN government at least until the pandemic is managed, the vaccination programme is completed and the economy recovers.
“But this attempt was not successful because there were parties who wanted to seize power instead of prioritising the lives and well-being of the people,” he said.
Towards the end of his address, Muhyiddin took the opportunity to apologise for any shortcomings as the prime minister, adding that he and his Cabinet of ministers had done their best in protecting the people during the health crisis.
He hopes that the new government will be formed quickly in order to not jeopardise the administration of the nation, especially as Malaysia is expected to reach herd immunity in October.
He said the plans outlined in the National Recovery Plan (NRP) must not be stunted as economic sectors will need to reopen to ensure a quick economic recovery.
He added that his Cabinet had ordered over 87 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for Malaysians, which according to him are more than enough to cover the entire population.
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“To all my fellow Malaysians, you don’t have to worry. My Cabinet has ordered more than enough vaccines for all of you. If the vaccination programme goes well, all of you will get vaccinated by the end of October.
“I hope the new government, which takes over the administration of this country, will take good care of all of you because it is the only thing that I care about,” said Muhyiddin.