07-08-2021, 05:11 PM
![[Image: Johari-Abdul-Ghani-2.jpg]](https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Johari-Abdul-Ghani-2.jpg)
PETALING JAYA: It is imperative that a strong and untainted leader be appointed as interim prime minister to steer the nation out of the Covid-19 and economic morass now that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has lost the support of Umno, says Johari Ghani.
The former second finance minister said now that Umno had withdrawn support for Muhyiddin, an interim government with a new leader was needed until the next general election which, by law, has to take place within the next 16 months.
Saying this was not the time to play politics but to save lives and revive the economy, Johari, who is also the Umno Federal Territory chief, added that the interim government should draw upon and include talented people from all sectors, including opposition parties.
The Umno Supreme Council last night decided to officially withdraw its support for Muhyiddin as the prime minister. In calling on Muhyiddin to step down, its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Perikatan Nasional-led government had failed to resolve the present crisis and that the people were continuing to suffer.
Johari said that the interim prime minister should focus on restoring the image of the country that had been badly damaged since the emergence of Covid-19 and the failure of Muhyiddin’s leadership. These shortcomings, listed by the Umno Supreme Council last night, should be rectified as soon as possible by the interim government.
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