KUALA LUMPUR: It is time for the Opposition to support Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and put an end to excessive politicking, says Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pic).

“The Opposition cannot be the Opposition in the past, which bashes every government initiative. I think that period is over now.

“We want to offer ourselves as the government and for that, we will have to wait for four or five more years.

“But for now, we must support Dr Mahathir. We must support the prime minister,” he said to reporters when met at the Parliament lobby on Monday (Oct 29).

According to Annuar, the government must be able to deliver its promises to the people, and excessive politicking is unhealthy for that matter.

“If we have a prime minister who couldn’t focus on administrating the country, then everyone will lose out,” he added.

Most importantly, Annuar said that the Opposition must ensure that the government of the day remains responsible to the people.

“We want to have a strong government but at the end of the day, the government must be responsible.

“That is why excessive politicking is unhealthy. I think that we should consider coming up with methods to strengthen the prime minister’s role as the chief executive.”

Meanwhile, Annuar said Barisan would not be proposing an alternative budget in response to Pakatan Harapan’s first budget which will be unveiled on Nov 2.

“But, we are compiling several economic initiatives to be presented to the government for their consideration.”