Berita Harian
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Muhyiddin was speaking during the official launch of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) election machinery in Johor Lama last night, 18 February, ahead of the state election next month.
He said that the country’s treasury has been extremely stretched after weathering the twin crises of the economy and the pandemic, calling the situation the “biggest challenge”, reported Free Malaysia Today.
“Yesterday [17 February], I asked Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz to deliver a report… I will leak [bocor] it in time [about] the position of our national finance. I was once there,” he said.
“Is our annual revenue enough to pay salaries, development? Is there enough to pay pensions, which is huge,” added Muhyiddin, who served as the 8th prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021.
“That is as much as I will say (for now). The country’s situation is not as rosy as being let on. This is the biggest challenge at the national level,” Muhyiddin said, as reported by Malaysiakini today, 19 February.
According to him, when countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia are leapfrogging Malaysia in economic development, a “business as usual” Barisan National (BN) will not be able to secure our future.
PN is part of the BN government at the Federal level.
He said that Johoreans must think about the country’s finances and the prospect of BN having its hands on the Federal purse again and that we will be worse off if they felt like voting for BN again for stability.
“It is an unusual and extraordinary time we live in, not just for Johor, but the country. We have to repair a spoiled country. I can’t imagine what will happen in the future,” he added.