KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday he would call for a general election once the coronavirus pandemic is over. He noted the "difficult and challenging situation" faced by his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government which has a slim majority in Parliament, as it is often buffeted by issues raised by the opposition and PN's ally Umno.

Among issues often played up by them are the need to call for national polls, as PN holds a slim majority in Parliament, a regular cause of tensions in the eight-month-old government.

"When the Covid-19 pandemic is over, we will hold the general election. We will return the mandate to the rakyat (people) and let them make the decision on which government they want," he told a virtual annual general meeting of his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Tan Sri Muhyiddin said PN will enter the next general election using its own logo.

PN has 14 parties under its wing, but only four official members including Bersatu and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). The other 10 parties, including Umno and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, are not official PN members. PN has 112 MPs in Parliament, the minimum needed to control the 222-strong House.

Mr Muhyiddin said that though there might be some bad blood between Bersatu and Umno, fate had brought the two Malay parties together. He said he had met Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and they had agreed to improve ties between the two biggest parties in PN. Umno has 38 MPs and Bersatu 31. "I know the people are fed up with the unending politicking. The people want political leaders to help them, not constantly fight for power," he said.