Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin Reconciliation Call For Mahathir Mohamad

JAKARTA - Malaysia's Prime Minister (PM) Muhyiddin Yassin is trying to make peace with the senior politician and person he has just replaced, Mahathir Mohamad. PM Muhyiddin called for Mahathir to support the new government after experiencing political tension with him for weeks.

In an interview, Mahathir admitted that he no longer has a majority in parliament and will not win a vote of no confidence in the new prime minister. This was announced after several of Mahathir's supporters left him and joined the new prime minister.

"Now he is a government that is able to incentivize many people. Some of my supporters have shifted support to him, they have been appointed ministers. When he offers services, it is difficult for people to refuse. I cannot offer them anything. So now to "A motion of no confidence is impossible," said Mahathir Mohamad.

In response, PM Muhyiddin said he wrote a letter to Mahathir calling for a meeting and apologized to Malaysia's most prominent political figure who has ruled Malaysia for 22 years.

"We have formed this government and I want Tun (Mahathir Mohamad) to support this government, this is a government for the people," said Muhyiddin.

Mahathir has yet to comment on PM Muhyiddin's call for reconciliation. On this occasion, Muhyiddin also rejected the opinion that he wanted the elections to be accelerated.

"I don't want that. People will not only curse, they will say this is not the right time. We are here to serve," said Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin was previously a former minister in Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet. He was sworn in as PM on March 1, joining hands with the former UMNO party and the Islamic party PAS to form a new coalition. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he believed Muhyiddin had majority support in parliament.

Muhyiddin's appointment as PM in the middle of the neighboring country is dealing with a declining economy as well as the impact of COVID-19 on trade and falling global oil prices. Therefore, Muhyiddin announced that the government would form a council to deal with the impact of the global event, namely the COVID-19 outbreak.

Muhyiddin also clarified his decision not to elect a deputy prime minister in his cabinet. He added that if he could not attend a meeting, he would be represented by the Minister of Trade and Industry Azmin Ali. Addressing the problem of corruption, Muhyiddin said all cabinet members had been told to declare their assets within a month and hand them over to the anti-corruption commission in Malaysia.