KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The attitude of politicians who turn themselves into "commodities” has resulted in the country being in a very awkward and unprecedented political situation.

That is the view of Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who added that these politicians were also no longer loyal to the party and their voters.

"They trade themselves as if they are ‘political commodities’, so this is the situation we are facing now.

"The most unfortunate thing is that Malaysia’s political morale is weakened in terms of values and principles,” he said during the "Terus Terang Bersama Tok Mat” talkshow programme broadcast on online on Umno’s Facebook page last night.

He said this when commenting on the country’s unending political crisis of late, which has resulted in Malaysia having three prime ministers in three years.

Mohamad said the action of political parties in opening the door for party-hopping politicians had made the situation worse and, in fact, these "traitors” were being hailed by some.

The effect of their action, he said, has caused the government to lose the political balance that it used to have after Independence.

Instead, the country, he added, had entered a phase where there is no dominant party and the political strength of the Malays was at its lowest in the history of the country.

He stressed that if the situation prolonged, the country would never achieve the political stability and well-being like it used to previously.

"This is very dangerous because the country won’t be managed well, not governed peacefully. If the country is well-managed, the people will benefit from it, can feel the political peace and economic health in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said Umno needed to differentiate between government and political party because they are two different entities.

"A political party does not control the government any more. Of the parties established by the government, Umno now has only 42 (seats). So, this is not a 100 per cent Umno government, but whether Umno likes it or not, it must support the government of the day because the government today is still led by Umno vice-president (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob),” he said.

He said the current government was the one set up to manage the country and take over from the government that was said to have failed.

"The PH (Pakatan Harapan) failed. PN (Perikatan Nasional) also failed, so this government must strive to manage the country. So, it is better for the government to have a political ceasefire across all parties so that the government will not be undermined,” he said. — Bernama