Dr Mahathir accuses Muhyiddin of being dictator

According to the former prime minister, the emergency enforcement was made to enable the Prime Minister to remain in power.

Dr Mahathir said, despite having implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO), Muhyiddin still chose to implement an emergency because he was desperate to maintain his power.

"It is a kind of dictatorial rule where the people cannot protest and we do not follow democracy by using emergency to give Muhyiddin full power," he said in an interview with BFM radio station on Friday.

The Langkawi Member of Parliament added that there was no need to declare an emergency because Malaysia has its own laws to control the pandemic.

In fact, he said, the situation in this country is not out of control like other countries.

He stressed that in other countries, some people protested the government's decision but in Malaysia, the situation was different and the people obeyed the government's instructions.

"Although Muhyiddin has absolute power, he did not do enough to help the people continue to survive in this pandemic situation.

"He did not do much in governing the country. The economy is in decline and the people are suffering as a result of the actions taken. MCO affects the people who have lost income and many do not have food," he said.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Tuesday consented to Putrajaya’s application to proclaim a state of emergency until August 1, 2021.

The proclamation caused all Parliamentary and State Assembly sittings to be suspended until August.

Just the day before, the government announced MCO again in six states - Penang, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah - from January 13 to 26.