KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday (Aug 17) brushed aside calls made by Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin for him to step down as the country's leader.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman in return told Mr Muhyiddin that he should instead focus on his court cases.

“We retained our victory and still have two-thirds, what is he thinking about?

“I advise him to focus on his court case,” Mr Anwar told reporters after the Residensi Wilayah groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.

Mr Muhyiddin has three remaining criminal charges under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act that are pending at the Sessions Court.

Last Saturday, Mr Muhyiddin called for the resignation of Mr Anwar and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, after PH and Barian Nasional’s (BN) poor performance in the state elections.

When asked about the Madani concept and if it failed to attract voters in the recently concluded state election, Mr Anwar said there are challenges and it takes time.

“I don’t agree that some quarters blame the Malays that they were easily influenced by racial and religion (sentiments)... intimidation of the Chinese and DAP, I don’t agree.

“It is a challenge but we will try to reach out and explain (what is the Madani concept),” he said.

“Madani is a holistic concept — the voters don’t see the riches behind the persons they voted for — and I don’t want to blame them but it is our machinery’s and leaders’ responsibility to work hard to explain the Madani policies,” Mr Anwar said.

A study by pollster Ilham Centre revealed that six out of 10 Malay respondents from the six states involved in the elections this weekend did not understand the policies of Malaysia Madani introduced by the Anwar administration.

The report said that only 39 per cent of Malays from Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan can grasp the government's intent, compared to 61 per cent of ethnic Chinese, 55 per cent of ethnic Indians, and 75 per cent of other groups. MALAY MAIL