Muhyiddin Yassin today called on Dr Mahathir Mohamad to give Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's government a chance to do its work in its own way for the people.

The deputy prime minister said Mahathir might not disagree with certain decisions made by today's government, but some people had also disagreed with the decision made by his government during his tenure as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

"Different people have different opinions, but please let today's government implement the things that we think will bring about positive impact to the socio-economic development of the people through the transformation programmes, subsidy rationalisation, 1Malaysia People's Aid and the likes, there will be some impact even if Tun (Mahathir) did not quite agree with it," he told reporters in Jakarta today.

Muhyiddin (right) is in Jakarta for a three-day visit, which began on Tuesday.

The deputy prime minister, however, said one only thing that should be given attention was the fact that Tun Dr Mahathir was a former leader of the country who still has his own opinion, influence and followers.

"That's why when he raised an issue in his (blog) postings, I personally will not take it lightly. It must have impact and consequences.

If he (Mahathir) touched on government matters which we need to explain, we should explain," he said.

Najib can explain 1MDB to Dr M

For certain matters, such as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) or issues linked to the prime minister himself, Muhyiddin said Najib could also meet with Mahathir to straighten things out.

    

"I agree that the prime minister should not only explain (the issues raised by Mahathir) to the public to clear up any misunderstanding about certain issues, but should also meet with Tun as a son meets his father," he said.

Muhyiddin said although Najib and Mahathir had met before, it was not wrong for them to meet again.

"I'm sure Mahathir (left) will accept (the explanation)," he said.

During the meeting, he said Najib and Mahathir could discuss the issues openly and resolve them once and for all, hence not leaving Najib's government in an awkward situation.

Muhyiddin said he respected both leaders and would not want to make any biased statement because what was more important was for the people to learn the truth.

Related stories

PM expected to respond to Dr M on TV tonight

Bung Moktar: Mahathir's posts not seditious

Show us the money, Dr M tells Najib backers

Ex-IGP Musa, too, says Dr M's queries not seditious

Give Najib a chance, Muhyiddin tells Mahathir

Ismail Sabri accuses Dr M of gerrymandering

Can the master checkmate his student?

By keeping silent, Najib doing disservice to himself