JOHOR BARU, April 28 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) could not fulfil its 2018 election promises because it inherited a huge debt from Barisan Nasional (BN), Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed today.

He explained said that the present government was not looking for excuses, but it did not have the ability to fulfil the promises as the country was on the brink of bankruptcy.

"It is not that we want to blame the previous government, but we inherited an administration that was almost bankrupt.

"Our resources were limited and we had to refocus our priorities,” said Muhyiddin in his speech at a Bersatu meet-the-people session in conjunction with the launch of the party’s book titled Mulanya di sini... Johor Baru in Thistle Hotel here today.

Present was also Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal, who is also Johor Bersatu secretary and the party’s Johor Baru division chief Zais Mohd Akil.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Johor Bersatu chairman, said that the present government understood the people’s needs and urged the country to spare the administration some time to fulfil its promises.

Ahead of PH’s May 9 anniversary of its first year in office, Merdeka Centre revealed that the government’s approval rating had fallen to 39 per cent from 67 per cent last August.

The pollster said the drop was likely due to the public’s perception of the country’s economic performance, the government’s showing, and concerns over Malay rights and privileges as well as fair treatment of other races in Malaysia.