Urges Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin To Resign, UMNO: Failed To Tackle COVID-19 Pandemic

Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin. (Twitter/@MuhyiddinYassin)

JAKARTA - President of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Ahmad Zahid announced his party's withdrawal of support to the Government of National Alliance led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, and urged him to resign on Wednesday 7 July.

According to CNA on Thursday, July 8, this statement was delivered in an online press conference late at night after the UMNO supreme council meeting, where Ahmad Zahid criticized the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zahid said UMNO had supported Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister on the basis that he could meet the two main guidelines set by the supreme council on March 11, 2020.

"This is to ensure that the aspirations of the people are truly realized, and the government must immediately control the economic downturn and come up with an effective plan to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic," said Ahmad Zahid.

These guidelines have not been met, Zahid continued, adding that the government has failed in seven aspects, such as pandemic management, abusing Malaysia's state of emergency for political purposes and failing to maintain the country's parliamentary democracy.

Based on the unanimous decision of the delegates at the UMNO 2020 Annual General Meeting and the government's failure, Ahmad Zahid said support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin had been withdrawn immediately.

"UMNO urges Muhyiddin Yasin to resign respectfully, so that a new prime minister can be appointed for a limited time," he said.

Later, the new prime minister will only focus efforts on the welfare of the people during the pandemic, addressing COVID-19 with an inclusive approach and ensuring the vaccination and immunization process can be expedited.

Once herd immunity is achieved, he said, the prime minister should advise the King to restore the people’s mandate to hold the 15th general election.

Ahmad Zahid also stated that UMNO would not support opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. His party will also not support any coalition with Pakatan Harapan or the Democratic Action Party.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday, promoting Senior Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as deputy prime minister. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was also promoted to senior minister.

UMNO's status as a partner in the ruling National Alliance (PN) government, led by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) under Muhyiddin, was questioned by the release of this statement.