Unperturbed Muhyiddin continues campaign in Sabah, reiterates he's still PM

SABAH POLLS | Unperturbed by Anwar Ibrahim's effort to oust him, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrived in Sabah to canvas support for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

Clad in a batik shirt, Muhyiddin firmly told a crowd of over 300 at a commercial centre that he is still the prime minister.

"Some of you may want to ask if I am still standing here as a prime minister.

"I am saying this because an opposition leader, whom I will not name, stated today that I had lost the support of the majority (of MPs)," he said, to cheers and applause from the crowd.

"I don't want to question his statement because I respect any views of the political leaders. But we must also understand that the country practised a parliamentary democratic system and we need to uphold the Federal Constitution," he said.

Muhyiddin declined to further weigh in on the matter because he said it is in the jurisdiction of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he said.

Read more: Sabah Decides 2020: Making sense of the players, parties and battles

Earlier today, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim claimed he garnered the support of the majority of MPs to seize control of Putrajaya and declared that Muhyiddin's administration had collapsed.

Muhyiddin was campaigning for PN's Luyang candidate Gee Tien Siong and BN's Likas candidate Dr Chang Kee Ying.

He also reiterated that he is a prime minister endorsed by the palace instead of being a backdoor prime minister as labelled by critics.

Muhyiddin added that he became prime minister to save the country which was hit by a constitutional crisis after Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned from the prime minister post.

The prime minister said he was saddened whenever there was a new death due to Covid-19 pandemic.

"For me, every single life is equally important to me. If there is a case of death, I am the first saddened by it because I have sons, daughters and mother too. I care for them, and I care for all the people.

"If you trust me, I can lead 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 states and the federal government.

Muhyiddin reiterated the need for the Sabah and federal governments to be in the same political coalition.

While he acknowledged that Warisan president and caretaker Chief Minister Shafie Apdal had done his best to develop Sabah, he urged Sabahans to choose Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) which comprises PN, BN and PBS for the betterment of the state.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also addressed local nationalism issues which labelled PN as a Peninsular-based political coalition.

"Do not wrongly perceive me as a Kuala Lumpurian who wants to come here to colonise Sabah. When did I colonise Sabah? This is not the face of a coloniser. We want only to help Sabah," he added.

Tonight's crowd were mainly Chinese and Sino-Kadazan voters. Luyang has the highest Chinese and Sino-Kadazan voters, recorded at 80.5 percent, followed by Likas at 78.1 percent.

Both Luyang and Likas are traditional DAP strongholds.

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