Muhyiddin's only achievement was 17 months in power, analysts say


Alfian Z.M. Tahir

Critics viewed Muhyiddin Yassin's 17-month rule as prime minister unfavourably as his razor-thin majority government's bid to manage the country's Covid-19 outbreak came up empty. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, August 16, 2021.

MUHYIDDIN Yassin’s 17-month tenure as the prime minister (PM) is best summed up by his government’s failure to properly handle the Covid-19 pandemic and in its inability to relieve the people of their financial hardships, political pundits said.
 
They said his tenure as the nation’s eighth prime minister was a total failure, with his success only measured by his ability to stay in power for 17 months.
 
They told The Malaysian Insight that Muhyiddin and his administration were also known for cracking down on their critics, cementing their reputation as a government that trampled on democracy.
 
“It was a total failure. Every plan that he did was a failure. For example, he said the emergency was to bring down Covid-19 cases, but that did not happen. He also said his government is the government that will steer the economy, that too did not happen,” said Iman Research’s Badrul Hisham Ismail.

Badrul said that under Muhyiddin, the reform agenda did not take place at all.
 
“All of the reforms brought forward by Pakatan Harapan were thrown out – his attitude towards parliament, how his government treated migrant workers during the pandemic, human rights rating dropped, Undi18 (was) rejected and international relations between Malaysia and other countries (were also) poor.
 
“Out of 10, I can only give 2 for his performance as PM. Nothing came out good from him,” added Badrul, who is the director of programmes at the local think tank.
 
Muhyiddin will be submitting his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong later today (August 16, 2021) after losing his thin majority in Parliament following the withdrawal of support from 15 Umno lawmakers.
 
The opposition parties had also rejected his olive branch, which he made by promising several reforms if they supported him.
 
On Friday, Muhyiddin offered seven reforms in return for the support of the opposition to stay in office.
 
He pledged to cap the prime minister’s term in office to two terms, allow opposition lawmakers to head 50% of parliamentary select committees, and enforce the law to lower the voting age to 18, among others.
 
The deal was proposed ahead of a confidence vote scheduled for September 7.
 
Muhyiddin is believed to have only 100 lawmakers on his side in the 220-seat Dewan Rakyat. The House has 222 seats but two are vacant following the deaths of the Grik and Batu Sapi MPs last year. Gerik was held by BN-Umno and Batu Sapi by Warisan.
 
Weak against Umno
Dr James Chin of Tasmania University pointed out that Muhyiddin’s endless struggle in office was also due to his failure to curb the persistent attacks from Umno.
 
He said Umno wanted more say and power in the government.
 
Chin added that Muhyiddin should have seen Umno as his biggest threat before he decided to forge unity with them, which triggered the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in February last year.
 
“I always said this, in Malay politics there can be only one core party. You see how Barisan Nasional survived for 60 years because there was only Umno.
 
“In the PN government, Bersatu has Umno for company. Umno kept attacking Bersatu and Muhyiddin despite being in the same coalition.
 
“Muhyiddin did not overcome this, therefore his focus in managing the country was distracted. It was a disaster from the start,” said Chin.
 
Chin considered Muhyiddin’s 17 months of prime ministership as the only success of the Pagoh MP.
 
“The fact he managed to stay on for 17 months was the only good review I can give. If that can be considered as a ‘success’,” Chin quipped.
 
Meanwhile, Ilham Centre’s Hisommuddin Bakar differed with Badrul and Chin, saying the Bersatu chairman should be credited for several initiatives he had made.
 
“I think he was still focused on curbing Covid-19 and he came up with several economic plans to help the people despite the resistance.
 
“His approach to the people when first taking office too was good. He built this father figure image that found support among the Malays.
 
“He didn’t respond to his critics and kept silent to reduce the politicking,” he said.
 
However, Hisommuddin admitted that Muhyiddin had his weaknesses.
 
“He didn’t communicate well with the media and some of his cabinet members didn’t help to lift his image. They made mistakes but Muhyiddin got blamed.
 
“His cabinet was a mess in my opinion. I give Muhyiddin a 4/10 rating,” he said.
 
74-year-old Muhyiddin was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister in March 2020 after Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as PM.
 
He was the home minister under the PH administration, but decided to ditch PH in his attempt to become PM, along with the support of Umno, PAS, and a breakaway faction from PKR.
 
International Islamic University of Malaysia academic, Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said Muhyiddin’s decision to allow Umno to be part of his government proved to be a political suicide.
 
He said it was also ironic for Muhyiddin who claimed to be a ‘Malay first’ to have a confrontation with the palace.
 
The confrontation came when his government announced the revocation of the emergency ordinance without consulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
 
“Despite the pressure coming from the palace, he still wanted to cling (onto) power. As a last resort, he offered to carry out reforms not dissimilar to what PH had wanted to do.
 
“He showed that he really wanted to stay on but it was already too late.
 
“Overall, he had his chances, but since the beginning, his flirting with Umno did not do him any good. Working with a party that sacked him proved to be a political suicide,” Tunku Mohar added. – August 16, 2021.


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