PETALING JAYA - Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) allies need to learn to be an authoritative opposition instead of whining, said newly appointed Deputy Premier Zahid Hamidi.

The Barisan Nasional chairman said PN chairman Muhyiddin is unable to accept the fact that he failed to become prime minister again and form the government.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Zahid said the appointment of the premier and subsequently Cabinet ministers required the approval of the king.

“Muhyiddin needs to respect these appointments. His actions and those of his allies who try to dispute them are a reflection of their true face... (They) do not respect the institution of the Malay rulers. Muhyiddin and his allies should be ashamed of appearing to be so power-crazed that they are willing to dispute the decisions of the rulers.

“They ought to emulate DAP (Democratic Action Party), which cares more about the interests of the country than the interests of the party and individuals in moving forward to be part of the unity government proposed by the King,” he said.

He urged PN leaders to similarly respect the process of appointment, and the decisions of the King and the Conference of Rulers.

Zahid stressed that the new government is not a Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

“The unity government is... a combination of the largest party and other parties that won the election working with other parties to build the country and govern better than previous governments,” he said.

Zahid also stood by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s appointment as finance minister, a post he held from 1991 to 1998 before his ignominious sacking.

“Anwar is known to be a high achiever who has managed Malaysia’s finances and economy and has had a budget surplus, generating income exceeding national expenditure.

“Anwar has also been recognised as the world’s best finance minister by Euromoney magazine and Asia’s best finance minister by Asiamoney magazine.

“Malaysia won the title of Asian Tiger among Asian countries when he was finance minister. It is certain that foreign investors are more confident to invest when Anwar holds the position of finance minister,” he said.

Zahid said these achievements were beyond Tan Sri Muhyiddin, whose problematic management of the country earned his administration the label of “kerajaan gagal” (failed government).

“Now, Muhyiddin is faced with various scandals from when he was prime minister, and this is why he is so scared and desperate to regain the post that he was willing to violate customs and manners in criticising the palace since the start of the process of naming the prime minister,” he said.

On Friday, Mr Muhyiddin labelled the Cabinet line-up announced by Datuk Seri Anwar as “the most disappointing in the country’s history”.

He said Mr Anwar had reneged on the promises of good governance he touted during the general election campaign period.

He was critical that Zahid, who has been ordered to enter his defence in court on 47 criminal charges of corruption, breach of trust and money laundering, was appointed deputy premier.

He also said Mr Anwar being finance minister would lead to the centralisation of power and possible large-scale corruption as seen in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad case. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK