KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin seemingly quoted a line from his daughter Najwa’s song, as he urged Malaysians to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic together for a better future.

In a special address today, Muhyiddin told Malaysians to remember their resilience and collective strength to face the uncertain times, as the country continues with its movement control order (MCO).

“Let us strengthen our resolve and stay committed to our fight against Covid-19. Let us stay the course and follow all orders made under the MCO. It is difficult, but certainly not impossible,” he said in his speech.

“This is the sacrifice we are called to make in order to win this war against the deadly virus. Winning this war starts in our homes and with our families. We can stop the virus from spreading by staying at home and maintaining physical distance.

“Stay strong, stay healthy, God’s willing, we will succeed. Remember, after the rain, comes the sun. And better days will be here again,” he added.

Singer-songwriter Najwa Mahiaddin, who now calls herself NJWA, released the song After the Rain featuring American counterpart Juny in 2015.

Its chorus went: “We may all fall down/But we all get up/Hold your head up, Malaysia/After the rain comes the sun.”

She had then wrote the song as a rallying call for Malaysians coping with the economic downturn and political uncertainty back then, following the 13th general election and roughly a year before Muhyiddin was sacked from Umno to form Bersatu.

Bersatu has since worked with Umno to form the Perikatan Nasional government with Muhyiddin as prime minister.

Separately, Muhyiddin also lauded the creativity shown by Malaysian in keeping themselves occupied during the MCO.

“I know for the past three weeks many have locked up in their home, miss their hobbies, jobs, friends and family. In short, our lives are very different, and at times we feel a little overwhelmed.

“I saw on social media that some men donning wife’s ‘baju kelawar’ (kaftan), some ride bicycles indoors and even some have turned my speech into a rap song,” he said.

“I hope this is not a strange occurrence, or get rid of one’s habits. It’s part of your creativity to get rid of the boredom of sitting at home. What is important here is that each of you has his own way of handling tribulations and tests,” he added.

The second phase of the MCO is scheduled to end at April 14.