KUALA LUMPUR: Leadership change in a time of crisis is not something strange and irresponsible despite the various views and perceptions that have emerged after Umno withdrew its support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Umno vice-president, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said there is truth in the view that all parties should focus on efforts to fight Covid-19 and set aside any political differences but it is not necessarily accurate.

This was because this view was based on the assumption that those given the responsibility to manage the pandemic were the most qualified and capable of bringing about the hoped-for recovery, he said.

He said in the context of Umno withdrawing its support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, the opposite occurred when the Prime Minister failed to manage the Covid-19 pandemic properly. 

"Not only is the economic situation not recovering. On the other hand, the country's health emergency continues to be critical and is frightening. Frontline workers are already very tired. The country's health system has reached the maximum capacity and is at risk of becoming paralysed. The people have been squeezed and are depressed.

"Most importantly, all of this happened during the prolonged period of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and Emergency which also saw the suspension of democratic institutions such as Parliament," he said in a statement, today.

On Wednesday, after a four-hour-long meeting, Zahid said the Umno Supreme Council decided for the party to withdraw its support for Muhyiddin and the PN government.

He also urged Muhyiddin to step down to make way for a new face who can bring the country out of the current health and economic crises.

Meanwhile, Khaled listed some of Umno's hopes from the withdrawal of support, among others it shows that the party is quite serious with its demands related to the welfare of the people.

He said Umno wants the people's needs and the welfare of the country to be the main bedrock that cannot be compromised.

"It's not something to be taken lightly with a strategy that is immature and is repetitive despite proven to have failed.

"In fact, any offer of positions to some of Umno's leaders will not change its stand which wants the best for the people and the country," he said.

Meanwhile, he hoped that the person appointed or offered to lead the country would be committed to the task at hand.

He said managing a health pandemic and an economic turmoil that has a domino effect globally is not a minor trust.

"Only those with the necessary spirit should shoulder such a responsibility," he said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/07/706971/umno-leadership-change-time-crisis-not-strange