KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has volunteered to be Johor’s economic adviser if the coalition prevails in the state election next month.
The former prime minister said that he intends to help the state’s economy affected by the Covid-19 outbreak by creating more jobs and providing more skills training, national news agency Bernama reported today.
“I will help Johor. Whoever will be elected as the menteri besar, he is a worthy person,” Muhyiddin was quoted as saying in Mersing on Johor west coast late last night while launching PN’s election machinery for the state constituencies of Tenggaroh and Endau.
In a separate report by news portal Malaysiakini today, Muhyiddin related that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was among the people in the “court cluster” to have approached him for help.
According to the news report, Muhyiddin claimed Ahmad Zahid sought him out at his office a few days after he succeeded Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister in 2020, armed with piles of files.
“I asked him, ‘What are these files?’ Zahid said ‘my case’.
“[Zahid said] ‘Help, Tan Sri, I did not do these things I was accused of,” Muhyiddin was quoted saying while launching PN’s election machinery in Tangkak on the Johor west coast yesterday.
Muhyiddin then reportedly told Ahmad Zahid that the latter had to go through court procedures if he was really innocent.
Malaysiakini also reported that Muhyiddin had repeated before the same crowd last night his previous assertion that Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is facing multiple criminal and corruption charges linked to the beleaguered 1MDB, asking for help with his court case.
This time, Muhyiddin reportedly said Najib had visited him to offer congratulations on becoming Malaysia’s eighth prime minister in March 2020 and raised his prosecution mid-conversation.
Najib has denied these assertions and promised to take legal action.
Muhyiddin said all PN election candidates for Johor will be required to take an anti-corruption oath, another local daily The Star reported this morning.
The Bersatu president said the oath is in line with PN’s offer of a clean government should it win the state polls.
Six days ago, Muhyiddin called Najib the “real” traitor of the Malays for embezzling billions of ringgit from state investment fund 1MDB, in a public spat about how the Malay community in the country was fractured.
Nomination day for the Johor state poll falls on February 26, while polling day is on March 12.
