Awards will only be given to those serve the nation, and not for individuals whose only contribution is supporting leaders in power, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

Mahathir stated that the conferring of honours should not be taken lightly as was done by the previous BN government.

“When (former prime minister) Najib Abdul Razak was in power, everyone got rewarded for supporting him. We won’t (do this). But we will give to those who deserve it,” he told reporters in his constituency of Langkawi today.

Mahathir said this in commenting on the decision by Istana Negara not to confer any awards in conjunction with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V’s birthday celebration on Sept 9.

“I do not know the reason (for no conferment of awards by Istana Negara), but I think it is because at this time we do not know who to give (awards to)."

Read more: Agong will not be conferring titles on his birthday

Meanwhile, Mahathir slammed Umno Youth for saying the government made a bad decision in not continuing the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.

He said the decision was taken after considering the country’s current financial situation.

“We do not have the money (to continue with the ECRL project) because the money was stolen by certain people, that is why we cannot pay for it.

“If Umno Youth can come up with RM55 billion (the cost of the project), we can proceed with this ECRL,” he said.

Mahathir, the Langkawi MP, arrived in his constituency today to visit flood victims in Kuala Teriang.

- Bernama