“Firstly, we don’t have the time. From now until September, how many more people will die from Covid-19? How many more will be infected? How many more will hang themselves?,” he asked, adding that many were living without food or income.

“We must act now. The question of politics is secondary, the priority is the people’s suffering,” said Mahathir when taking questions from the media at an online forum today.

He then repeated his call for the government to revamp its national recovery council (MPN) to include more experts in the respective fields, instead of being headed by politicians.

“If you give them the power to manage the situation, I’m confident the question of politics can be deferred. Now, I don’t see any solutions.”

He said the MPN, once revamped, must be given the authority to manage the situation, adding that the experts were not the government’s enemy but simply wanted to help the nation get through the ongoing crises.

However, Mahathir said the experts cannot get involved because this government “wants to do things on its own but does not know what to do”.

“I don’t care who is in the government, as long as they give the authority to this body (of experts) to perform its duties.

“Give us the chance to form the body, coupled with the authority and sufficient funds. We can ensure the country will recover,” he said.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the cancellation of the EOs by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong no longer arose with the Emergency having ended on Aug 1.

He appeared to back down in the standoff with the Palace over the revocation of the EOs, conceding that the process has not been finalised.

He said the EOs would be laid before Parliament in September to be debated, in line with the King’s decree on the matter.

This apparent U-turn by Putrajaya has drawn backlash from MPs, with Najib Razak saying it showed the government had lied to the country while Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said jeered: “A day late and a dollar short!”