Malaysia is doing well – Dr M
PUTRAJAYA: Dissatisfaction among the public towards the government happens because the government is not very good at telling stories about what it has done, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Besides the progress in economics, Dr Mahathir pointed out that achievements should also be judged on the country’s stability, peace and commitment to abide by the rule of law.
“If you have a country this stable, peaceful and law-abiding, that is a great achievement.
“Besides our progress in the economic field and in the social field, our attempt now is to reduce disparity and all the problems that we are facing in this country,” he said after chairing the Special Cabinet Committee on AntiCorruption (JKKMAR) meeting, here yesterday.
Dr Mahathir said this when asked to comment on Merdeka Centre polls which showed that 61 per cent of Malaysians believed that the country was headed in the wrong direction while only 26 per cent felt it was moving on the right track.
Economic matters were the biggest concern faced by Malaysians, followed by leadership, administration, politics and racial issues.
Dr Mahathir said though the government was formed through a coalition consisting of four political parties plus Parti Warisan Sabah, the Cabinet is still functioning and able to make decisions.
“Please remember that this country is very lucky that when there is a change of government, nothing happens. Everything went smoothly,” he said.
Despite the instability and chaos happening in other countries around the world, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia is still peaceful with no fighting or demonstration on the streets.
Askedaboutthedisappointment of the public over recent reports on foreign luxury cars to be used as official cars for ministers, Dr Mahathir said no government was spared from being criticised.
“The best thing is to be in the opposition. The (former) opposition has enjoyed 60 years of criticising the government and that opposition is now the ruling government, so it receives a little bit of his own medicine,” he said jokingly.
On another note, Dr Mahathir had described the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike recently as an immoral act.
He also said it was crucial for the Muslim countries to come together to reject such immoral acts.
When asked whether he would continue voicing his opinion on an international issue, Dr Mahathir said: “I will speak the truth. I don’t care whether you are powerful or not, (if) you do something wrong, I think I have the right to express my opinion.”