Give Najib a chance, says Muhyiddin

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Thursday called on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to give Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's government a chance to do its work in its own way for the people.

The deputy prime minister said Dr Mahathir might not agree with certain decisions made by today's government, but some people had also disagreed with the decision made by his government during his tenure as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

"Different people have different opinions, but please let today's government implement the things that we think will bring about positive impact to the socio-economic development of the people through the transformation programmes, subsidy rationalisation, 1Malaysia People's Aid and the likes.

"There will be some impact even if Tun (Dr Mahathir) did not quite agree with it," Muhyiddin told reporters in Jakarta, Thursday.

Muhyiddin is in Jakarta for a three-day visit, which began on Tuesday.

The deputy prime minister, however, said one only thing that should be given attention was the fact that Dr Mahathir was a former leader of the country who still has his own opinion, influence and followers.

"That's why when he raised an issue in his (blog) postings, I personally will not take it lightly. It must have impact and consequences. If he (Dr Mahathir) touched on government matters which we need to explain, we should explain," he said.

For certain matters, such as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) or issues linked to the prime minister himself, Muhyiddin said Najib could also meet with Dr Mahathir to straighten things out.

"I agree that the prime minister should not only explain (the issues raised by Dr Mahathir) to the public to clear up any misunderstanding about certain issues, but should also meet with Tun as a son meets his father.

"I'm sure Tun Dr Mahathir will accept (the explanation) and Datuk Seri Najib will not feel so awkward," he said.

Muhyiddin said he respected both leaders and would not want to make any bias statement because what was more important was for the people to learn the truth.