PUTRAJAYA: The recommendations by the National Recovery Council (NRC) are not his alone but a collective one from experts, says NRC chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He also mooted the setting up of a National Recovery Ministry in place of the council so that the government would take its recommendations seriously, as he felt that there seemed to be a lack of political will by the government to implement recommendations the council had put forward.
Muhyiddin was speaking to the media after chairing a four-hour NRC meeting at the Finance Ministry here on Tuesday (Sept 27).
He further said that not implementing or side-lining the many recommendations put forward by the NRC and endorsed by the Cabinet would only be to the detriment of the country, for which the people would be the ones to pay the price at the end.
"I would not say NRC is a toothless tiger and we have done as our function should be, by meeting every month and giving many expert recommendations.
"We have submitted those recommendations and this is a done deal. If I am asked why I have not done anything, that part (implementation) is not part of my job.
"These are not my recommendations, but the council’s which is made up of Cabinet ministers, economists, experts on all fields and even the opposition - a very expert group.
"Do not regard these recommendations as mine - perhaps my face is not handsome enough or I am from a different political party.
"These are not my ideas but ideas of the council. Papers are presented by qualified experts in all seriousness for hours," said Muhyiddin.
Muhyiddin, who was the former prime minister, is also the Perikatan Nasional chairman and president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
He also stated that the national recovery post-Covid has not been good enough as the country is also facing the effects of global economic effects from other countries which are recovering as well.
"The government must consider what we have recommended. We have recovered a little but not good enough and we have not returned to pre-Covid times.
"The second whammy was the global economic situation which worsened the national situation and depression might start creeping in.
"We do not ask for power as we are not in that position - do we have to be ministers to do something?
"If the government is serious, I have a more drastic proposal of a temporary National Recovery Ministry such as that in the United Kingdom, made up of former ministers and senior economists from the private sector.
"You could give that post to me or the Prime Minister can take on that portfolio as the economy is a very wide portfolio," said Muhyiddin.
In recent days, Muhyiddin had been attacked for questioning the government's efforts in aiding the national recovery leading to the slide in ringgit and increase in cost of living.
