Rafizi bemused by Muhyiddin and Ismail’s public bickering

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli says he is “confused and bemused” by the open bickering between Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his predecessor, Muhyiddin Yassin, these past few weeks.

“We have a government headed by Ismail, then we have the former prime minister, who is also part of the government (bloc), but they are tearing each other apart.

“The irony of it is this – as they point fingers at each other, they are actually pointing fingers at the government,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

The former Pandan MP added that such quarrels should be kept behind closed doors when the nation was going through a “very critical” time economically.

Rafizi said arguments like this among government leaders would reduce foreign investors’ confidence, which would in turn cause issues for the already hammered ringgit.

“Ringgit’s strength is attributed, to a large extent, to inflows and outflows of foreign portfolios, or foreign direct investments (FDI). And FDI gives short-term and medium-term confidence in the economy and governance.

“As much as I want them to continue jabbing and throwing stones at each other, we have a country at stake. I would like to advise them to please get a room,” he said, adding that the two leaders were “squabbling like little children in a kindergarten”.

Last week, Muhyiddin said a general election should be held so the people could elect a capable government if Ismail could not manage the economy and country well.

The former prime minister noted that the falling ringgit, rising inflation and current economic climate had hit Malaysians hard, while the B40 income group had effectively turned into the B60.

In reply, Ismail said if the government was said to have failed to manage the country, it meant that Muhyiddin had also failed in his role as the government’s adviser.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin hit out at Putrajaya for being slow in taking up or implementing recommendations suggested by the National Recovery Council (MPN) to solve some of the issues faced by the country.

The Bersatu president said the council had submitted 95 recommendations to the Cabinet – 69 on socio-economic issues and 26 related to governance.

He said only 16 of the 69 have been fully implemented while 30 were in the process of being executed, 14 have yet to be implemented, and nine were awaiting the Cabinet’s decision. — Free Malaysia Today