Muhyiddin slams govt for leaving Economy Ministry without full-time minister

SHAH ALAM - Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has criticised the government’s decision to leave the Economy Ministry without a dedicated minister following the resignation of Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.

He said assigning the portfolio to Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan in addition to the latter's current duties was a burden that could undermine accountability and effective management.

"I don’t think it’s right to assign another minister to execute a function which is quite critical and then burden him entirely. The Finance Minister II is also the Economy Minister and both are heavy portfolios," he said during a podcast with Sinar Daily.

Muhyiddin noted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is also the Finance Minister, often travelled abroad, which left the Finance Minister II with an even heavier load.

"He (Anwar) is burdening the Finance Minister II to do the job and then he assigned him to also perform the duty of Economy Minister, which Rafizi had resigned from.

"It indicates the government or the Prime Minister may lack understanding of the economy, to burden a person who is not an economy minister to perform this duty," he added.

The Pagoh MP questioned why no one else in the administration or Parliament had been appointed to lead the portfolio, asking whether there was no one in the party or among its MPs who could take on the role.

He said this was a serious issue, as the Economy Ministry was one of the most important ministries.

Muhyiddin said while Rafizi’s performance as minister was not flawless, at least there had been a person in charge.

"I’m not saying Rafizi did well, but at least there’s a minister in charge. If people wanted to criticise him, they could. But at least somebody was answerable. Now the economy is not being managed well," he said.

He stressed that giving Amir responsibility for both portfolios could lead to inefficiency.

"To assign a person to two roles indicates that within the present government there are not enough people qualified to do the job. I think it’s not going to be effective," he said.

Rafizi resigned as Economy Minister in June after losing the contest for PKR deputy president, saying he no longer had the mandate from his party to continue the government’s reform agenda. He had served in the role since December 2022.

Amir, who took over Rafizi’s duties was appointed as Finance Minister II in December 2023.

Before joining the Cabinet, he held top positions in government-linked companies, including as the chief executive officer of the Employees Provident Fund and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

The Cabinet has said Amir will manage the Economy Ministry’s tasks until a replacement was named, including overseeing preparations for the 13th Malaysia Plan, expected to be tabled in Parliament later this year.