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SABAH SURVEYS | Undaunted by Anwar Ibrahim’s effort to overthrow him, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin came to Sabah to request support for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
Dressed in a batik shirt, Muhyiddin firmly told a crowd of more than 300 in a shopping mall that he is still the prime minister.
“Some of you may want to ask if I am still here as prime minister.
“I say this because an opposition leader, whom I will not name, said today that he had lost the support of the majority (of parliamentarians),” he said, to cheers and applause from the crowd.
“I do not want to question his statement because I respect the opinions of political leaders. But we must also understand that the country practiced a democratic parliamentary system and we must respect the Federal Constitution,” he said.
Muhyiddin declined to comment further on the matter because he said it is in the jurisdiction of Yang di-Pertuan Agong, “he said.
Read more: Sabah Decides 2020: Making sense of players, parties and battles
Earlier today, PKR Chairman Anwar Ibrahim claimed that he won the support of the majority of MPs to take control of Putrajaya and declared that the Muhyiddin administration had collapsed.
Muhyiddin was campaigning for the PN candidate in Luyang, Gee Tien Siong, and the BN candidate in Likas, Dr. Chang Kee Ying.
He also reiterated that he is a palace-backed prime minister rather than a back door prime minister as critics label him.
Muhyiddin added that he became prime minister to save the country that was hit by a constitutional crisis after Dr. Mahathir Mohamad resigned as prime minister.
The prime minister said that he was saddened every time there was a new death due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For me, every life is equally important to me. If there is a case of death, I am the first to be saddened because I have sons, daughters and a mother too.
“If you trust me, I can guide the country through all its problems,” he said.
However, Muhyiddin said he could only do so with strong corroboration and cooperation between the people and the government, as well as between the states and the federal government.
Muhyiddin reiterated the need for Sabah and the federal governments to be in the same political coalition.
While acknowledging that Warisan President and Acting Chief Minister Shafie Apdal had done everything possible to develop Sabah, he urged Sabahans to elect Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), comprising PN, BN and PBS for the betterment of the state.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also addressed issues of local nationalism that labeled PN as a political coalition based on the Peninsula.
“Do not misperceive me as a Kuala Lumpurian who wants to come here to colonize Sabah. When did I colonize Sabah? This is not the face of a colonizer. We just want to help Sabah,” he added.
The crowd tonight was mainly Chinese and Chinese-Kadazan voters. Luyang has the highest Chinese and Chinese-Kadazan voters, registered with 80.5 percent, followed by Likas with 78.1 percent.
Both Luyang and Likas are traditional DAP strongholds.
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