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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — After tendering his resignation, caretaker prime minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin vowed again not to waiver in his refusal to work with unnamed “kleptocrats”.
He has repeated the same motto in his previous addresses, during the long drawn political turmoil with Umno.
In his national address today, the Pagoh MP said that he could have chosen the “easy way” by sacrificing his principles to remain as prime minister, but refused to do so.
“I would never, ever be an accomplice to kleptocrat groups, disrupt the independence of the judiciary and sideline the Federal Constitution just to remain in power.
“In all honesty, the position I took on was not for grandeur. It came with a heavy burden of responsibility. I led the nation during an unprecedented health and economic crisis. At the same time, I was continuously threatened politically,” he said.
Muhyiddin became the country’s shortest ruling prime minister today amid a prolonged and fractious power struggle with Umno that has left the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition in tatters.
In his speech, he also apologised to Malaysians for his shortcomings, saying that he and his Cabinet had tried to do their best to save lives and livelihoods of the people.
“I want to take this opportunity to seek forgiveness from all of you, brothers and sisters, on all of my shortcomings and weaknesses, throughout my tenure as the prime minister,” he said.
Muhyiddin also expressed hope to see a new government being formed soonest, to not disrupt the nation’s governance.
