THE Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has lost its popularity with the public as the people are left feeling helpless in the face of the ongoing health and economic crises, Malay rights groups said.

They said the Malays especially feel neglected and powerless due to the government’s poor management of the Covid-19 outbreak and failure to provide social safeguards for those who have lost their revenue and jobs.

They told The Malaysian Insight that there is a need for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government to address these issues urgently so as to gain the support of the Malay community, which forms the bulk of the country’s voters.

The Muhyiddin administration came into power February last year by riding on the Malay-Muslim agenda, calling itself a government that protects the racial and religious interests of the Malay community. 

Malaysia Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) lead activist Nadzim Johan said the public opinion of the government is less than desirable due to the volatile state of affairs in the country, especially during a pandemic.

“In terms of support for the government, it has declined. They (government) got to make changes in order to regain the confidence of the people.

“The people feel they are being neglected and nothing positive is happening. The support is lacking in terms of the welfare for the people,” he said.

Nadzim said there is now a trust deficit that will pose as a challenge for the PN government to tackle.
 
“I don’t think the government can overcome this situation easily. I think the situation is overly critical, especially with the high number of Covid-19 cases.

“The government has to make changes in whatever plans that are being carried out to assist the people,” he said.

He added that the government’s decision to impose higher fines for standard operating procedures violations is very unpopular.

“The authorities give high compounds up to RM50,000. This is ridiculous.

“People on the ground are upset with the government. We are not just talking about the Malays, it affects everyone who has no food on the table.

“We don’t want the situation to get worse and people start going to the streets (to demonstrate). We don’t want more people to get upset,” he said.
 
Nadzim said that the people are also tired of politicians and politicking, especially with the continuous state of uncertainty over the prime minister’s majority in Parliament.

“The people want to see changes. People can’t wait any longer,” he added.
 
Cement position as prime minister

Majlis Perundingan Melayu secretary-general Dr Hasan Mad said that Muhyiddin must cement his position as the prime minister to gain the support of the Malay community, among others.

He said only then will Muhyiddin be able to function without any political disturbances.

He also said that the prime minister should reconcile with Dr Mahathir Mohamad and allow the former prime minister to set up his national recovery council.

“Give Dr Mahathir a chance to see how he can help with the pandemic.

“Muhyiddin should lure Dr Mahathir to be with him now that Najib (Razak) and Ahmad Zahid (Hamidi) have withdrawn Umno’s alliance with Perikatan.

“Najib and Zahid will regret this move because the majority of Umno will not follow them. Dr Mahathir can be persuaded,” Hasan said.

On Tuesday, Dr Mahathir pleaded with Putrajaya to allow him to set up his recovery council, saying they are not enemies but here to help the country.

Hasan pointed out that with regard to the welfare of the people, Muhyiddin must ensure that the government tackles the economic setbacks brought about by the pandemic effectively.

“He should go to the ground more often to see what’s happening. He has to improve on the delivery system on the pandemic, aid and jobs.

“Muhyiddin has to listen to the voices on the ground and not just all the feel-good reports that he is getting by those in Putrajaya,” he said.

Muhyiddin’s slim majority is put under the spotlight following the withdrawal of support from a group of Umno lawmakers.

However, the Muhyiddin has since said that he will face a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat sitting in September to clear all doubts on his legitimacy as prime minister. – August 7, 2021.