Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the Pakatan Harapan government cannot take things as "business as usual" in 2020.

"Harapan has to be ready to receive 2020 in preparation for 'bad weather' or 'worse situation' than what is expected.

"Only with this mindset can the country's leadership get through the unpredictable weather of 2020.

"This is not business as usual," Mujahid (photo) said in a statement today.

With this mindset, he said, ministers have to bring new narratives and create solutions that can be felt by the rakyat.

He said there have been incidents in the country this year which show that Malaysian society may not be fully ready to ring in the year 2020 in the vision presented by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"The Harapan government's main challenge is how it is forced to handle narrow-minded race and religious issues which have become the main obstacle for a Bangsa Malaysia.

"At the same time, Harapan is also pressured by certain quarters who claim to be practicing freedom of speech but are inviting negative feedback to those protecting the status quo," Mujahid said.

The country's leaders need to be committed to handling every group through dialogue and discussion, he said, as every group needs to have confidence that the new Malaysia will guarantee their voices are heard.

It is not easy for the rakyat to come out from Umno-BN's cocoon, so Harapan should appreciate the sacrifices made by the rakyat, he said.

Harapan's opposition has been forced to use narrow-minded race and religious issues as "cheap material", Mujahid said, and responding to these desperate measures would only give rise to new thinking that leans more towards extremism.

"Harapan leaders should overcome the challenges of such groups because, as the government, Harapan should focus on making the shared prosperity vision 2030 a success," he said.