PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): Continued service to the people will be Perikatan Nasional's main agenda that will be given attention by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who strongly believes that the people still need help to face the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "That is the way. That's what we are going to do in the future. Serving the people is our main agenda in this time of need – we can't fail," he said.

       Muhyiddin said, since he is no longer prime minister, full attention would be given to Bersatu and its allies in Perikatan to continue serving the people.

       "Now that I have a lot of time, what else would I do? My focus will be on the party and our allies in Perikatan.

       "When the time for election comes, we will leave it to the people to decide. What's for sure is that I have a lot of time now," he told senior media editors after announcing his resignation as prime minister on Monday (Aug 16).

       Muhyiddin is currently carrying the duties of caretaker prime minister upon the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

       Muhyiddin said he was confident that the people had been able to witness how caring the Perikatan-led government could be.

       "We have been tested, we have proved ourselves and we can do better next time around. I don't mean to brag... but so far all my friends said they will stand by me through thick and thin," he said.

       While expressing his appreciation for their support, Muhyiddin said this also reflected the spirit of the Perikatan leadership to stick together to build its strength, which could be seen in the increasing number of parties joining the coalition.

       "It's like a revival of Barisan Nasional's glory days as all races in Malaysia are represented in Perikatan. "We don't just serve the Malays, we serve all, I don't say if you are a Chinese, there will be no vaccine for you, or if you are an Indian, there will be no food for you. No, we never do that," he said.

       Muhyiddin also stressed that during any of his Cabinet meetings, they had never prioritised any one race.

       "Never. You can check with them (MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan).

       "We always discussed the well-being of the people as a whole, not just how to help the Malays, or the Chinese, the Indians or Orang Asli. Everybody deserves a good life," he said.

       Muhyiddin said he could now prove that Perikatan is indeed a political coalition for all races. – Bernama