JOHOR BARU, May 21 — The Johor Perikatan Nasional (PN) today said it welcomes and will follow Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar’s royal statement for all state lawmakers and MPs to find a way to counter the latest surge in the Covid-19 infections.
The coalition’s secretary Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal expressed confidence that other assemblymen and MPs will do their part to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“I believe the synergy between the federal, state and local governments with the community needs to be constantly enhanced over time.
“We all need to work together and play a role in prevention against Covid-19. This effort demands sacrifice and cooperation from all parties regardless of background,” the former Johor mentri besar said in a statement.
He was commenting on the state Ruler’s royal statement yesterday for all elected representatives to meet and discuss following the spike in Johor’s Covid-19 cases.
Dr Sahruddin said Johor PN is open to cooperating with its political foes if it could flatten the Covid-19 curve again.
“This requires commitment from people from all walks of life,” he said.
The Bukit Kepong assemblyman said now was not the time to blame anyone.
“We need to be open-minded, big-hearted and at the same time give our full focus to efforts in combating the Covid-19 pandemic together,” he said.
Looking at the current developments, Dr Sahruddin said it was not easy for the government to decide on any decision to control the pandemic while trying to revive the country’s economy as well as society as a whole.
“I believe that the government led by the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin since the beginning of the PN administration has done its best to control the pandemic,” he said.
The PN coalition in Johor consists of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), PAS and also Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan).
At present, Umno nominally supports the PN coalition but is not a component. Umno leader Datuk Hasni Mohammad is Johor mentri besar.
Yesterday, Hasni proposed a meeting of all state MPs and assemblymen next week in response to Sultan Ibrahim’s statement.
The Johor Pakatan Harapan has also expressed its willingness to meet and proposed five items it regards as in urgent need of discussion.
