Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (Aug 16): Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has expressed his appreciation to the top leadership of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for their continued support to him from the beginning to the end of his tenure as prime minister.
In a televised address to announce his resignation, Muhyiddin also thanked the other top leaders of Perikatan Nasional (PN) comprising Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), and Gerakan, along with top leaders of MCA and MIC, as well as some Umno MPs.
“I would also like to record my deepest thanks to all the friends in the Cabinet who have sacrificed their time and energy with me all this while,” he said.
GPS, MCA, MIC, and Umno were part of the PN federal government, although they did not join the PN coalition, with their MPs appointed as ministers and deputy ministers in the administration.
Muhyiddin claimed he failed to save the PN government as a result of the purported greed for power among certain quarters.
“I did many things until the last minute to save the PN government, at least until the job of managing the pandemic, the vaccination programme, and for economic rehabilitation.
“But these attempts did not work as there were parties who were greedy to grab power, rather than prioritising your lives and livelihoods,” he said.
Muhyiddin added that his resignation was God’s will and another chapter in his political struggle.
He submitted his letter of resignation as prime minister and the resignation of the whole Cabinet when meeting Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara at 12.30pm today.
Muhyiddin explained the resignations were made in accordance with the Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution as he had lost majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said he noted the appeals of millions of Malaysians for him to continue as prime minister.
“However, I could not realise their appeal because I have lost the majority of support from the members in the Dewan Rakyat. I took this action (to resign) in accordance with my oath of office to always uphold, protect, and defend Constitution,” he said.
Muhyiddin said he could have taken the easy way out by sacrificing his principles to stay on as prime minister but chose to do otherwise.
“I will never cooperate with the kleptocrats, who are waiting to be freed by the courts and shown contempt for the Federal Constitution to be in power,” he said.
According to him again, there was no longer a need for him to test his legitimacy through a motion of confidence in Parliament as 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for him and his proposal for bipartisan cooperation was declined by the Opposition.
He hoped a new government would be formed soon to allow for the smooth running of the country’s administration in order to achieve the national target of herd immunity against Covid-19 by October.
According to him, his Cabinet had ordered more than 87 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, involving a cost of RM4.36 billion, to meet this target so that more economic sectors could reopen for the recovery of the country’s economy and to enable the people to earn incomes for their families.
“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 end of October.
“I hope the new government, which takes over the administration of this country, will take a good care of all of you because it is the only thing that I care about. I care for you always,” he said.