Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad will face an uphill task in restoring Malaysia’s economy and institutions if the coalition takes power, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said.

As such, Muhyiddin said he does not envy Mahathir, even though Harapan has named the latter as its choice for prime minister.

“Tun (Mahathir) would have to find ways to fix things immediately so that our country will be back on the right path. It is not easy, ladies and gentlemen; I don’t even envy our seventh prime minister.

“But this is what we have been entrusted to do, and we want to show that the new government will be better than the BN-led government.

“By then, God willing, we would have toppled the BN government,” Muhyiddin said in his speech at the launch of Bersatu’s Setiawangsa division last night.

He said this after listing various purported wrongdoings and mismanagement under the administration of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the country’s sixth prime minister.

These include Malaysia’s large national debt, allegations of misappropriation of public funds and erosion of public institutions.

For the record, Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal, amid allegations that he had misappropriated money from the state investment fund.

The national debt stood at RM687.4 billion as of September last year.

Harapan announced Mahathir as its choice for prime minister during its convention on Jan 6, while PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would be his deputy if the coalition wins the 14th general election.

The coalition also announced that it would take steps to secure freedom and royal pardon for its incarcerated de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim once it forms the federal government, to pave the way for him to become the eighth prime minister.