Muhyiddin Says He Met Ismail To Discuss Posts For Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers & GLCs

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for our latest stories and breaking news.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin, whose Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition controls 48 seats in the parliament, said that the meeting was held several days ago and raised the previous agreement between PN and Ismail.

Muhyiddin, who is the shortest-serving prime minister in Malaysian history, raised a number of important issues such as appointments in the government to fill vacancies and also ask for new posts.

"We are not asking for more (than what has been agreed upon), but only about the appointment of a deputy prime minister (DPM) and ministers as well as those involving government-linked agencies (GLCs) and statutory bodies as well as the government's allocations," he said during a press conference.

The former prime minister shared this when he was asked to comment on the status of Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin who recently resigned from his party, Bersatu.

For the record, the current Cabinet has not appointed a deputy prime minister.

"I leave it to the public to evaluate us [...] I am in the council to help the country and the government. If the rakyat says, 'Muhyiddin enough', I will stop. I do this pro bono. I have not asked for a single sen. I'm not getting paid anything. I genuinely want to help. That’s my aim," the NRC chairperson told reporters.

He was responding to a statement by UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has called for the NRC to be scrapped now that the government has formed a committee to wage "jihad" on inflation.

The committee is called the Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation.

According to Zahid Hamidi, the NRC has not shown results and is basically a platform for Muhyiddin.

"The NRC was only given to Muhyiddin to boost his image and his party. The NRC has failed. It is time to abolish this council and free up government officials from attending NRC meetings that are ineffective. I advise Muhyiddin to use other platforms to contribute ideas as a former prime minister," he said.

People, no matter how much they wish, have no say in calling for the chairperson's resignation.

On 1 September 2021, when Muhyiddin was appointed to the post, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali said that the appointment was made on the basis of the government's confidence in Muhyiddin's ability to lead strategies for national recovery, in order to achieve the best economic impact and restore the lives of the people who were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.