‘CEP may remain beyond 100 days’
> Up to prime minister to decide if council should be dissolved, says Saifuddin
KUALA LUMPUR: There is no guarantee that the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) will be dissolved after 100 days, as that would be at the discretion of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
“The CEP is not a legal entity, it was set up by the PM with specific terms of reference,” he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
“It’s up to the prime minister and the Cabinet to decide on CEP’s suggestions.”
He also defended Tun Daim Zainuddin as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s representative to negotiate key infrastructure deals with Beijing, without involving officials from the Foreign Ministry.
On why he, as the Foreign Affairs minister, did not go to China, Saifuddin said not every diplomatic visit requires his presence or that of a government official.
“This is not something that is wrong in my eyes.”
He said there were many ways of dealing with foreign affairs.
“Sometimes, we send the foreign minister, finance minister or the economic affairs minister. It (is decided) on a case-by-case basis,” he added.
Saifuddin said this was not the first time that the prime minister had sent a special envoy adding that Wisma Putra officials met Daim before and after his trip.