TALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should step down for failing to handle the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, said Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“Umno’s suggestion was for the eighth prime minister to take responsibility and step down as the Covid-19 situation and the country’s economy have worsened even after the government was given full emergency powers for seven months followed by a few lockdowns,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (July 11).
Najib denies that Umno is “power-crazy” and stressed that all what Umno party wanted was “to return the power to the people.”
Najib also refuted critics saying that changing the prime minister now will affect the government’s effort to fight Covid-19. He said the national vaccination programme would not be affected, as it was not the ministers who are administering the jabs.
“One certainly has to be responsible for his failure that has cost the lives and livelihoods of Malaysians.
“Let the government keep functioning with new policies by changing to a new prime minister who can instill confidence in the people,” he said, citing some examples of other countries where leaders had either stepped down or been forced to resign after failing to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the issue should be resolved soon and not dragged on for another two years as it would bring more damage to the country.
Najib also suggested that an interim prime minister for three to six months would be the only solutions to solve the issue, adding that the present Perikatan Nasional government had a slim majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Once the country achieved herd immunity and the pandemic is over, Parliament should be dissolved and the power returned to the people in fresh elections, he said.
