KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin assured the public that the Opposition are not planning to make any moves to change the government and will allow the current administration to do its job.

Hamzah, who is the former home minister, said allowing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a chance to govern and prepare Malaysia for some tough economic realities in 2023 demonstrated that the Opposition truly cared for the country and its well-being.

“If I really want to work for the sake of the country, I should really give trust and confidence by saying we are not going to disturb the government by just (raising) political issues and matters in this country.

“One good example is the bread-and-butter issues, economic and political. Both Opposition and government need to work together. If the government plays their games and is one-sided by taking a populist stand, that is no good,” Hamzah said today during a press conference after the monthly Concorde Club meeting with senior editors.

“They should work with the Opposition so any decisions they want to make are meant to be long term instead of populist policies. This is very important for the prime minister to understand.”

Hamzah is part of Perikatan Nasional (PN) which formed the Opposition following the formation of the unity government between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) after the 15th general election in November 2022.

Anwar was then sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister on November 24.

When asked to comment on Anwar’s performance thus far, Hamzah said it was too early to make an assessment.

“For me, it isn’t fair to comment now as it’s only been about two months. He used to be a good deputy prime minister, minister of finance. But that was then.

“Now it’s a different world and the world is facing bigger problems economically and I think don’t disturb him on political issues.

“Just allow him to sit down and work on economic matters, stabilise the economy and people will be very happy, and he can last even longer.

“If he cannot do that, it will create political instability,” he added.

The Concorde Club is an informal media group of local and foreign editors that meets regularly with political leaders and key policy makers. Previous speakers included Anwar, Rafizi Ramli, Anthony Loke, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.