'We don't go around shouting it out, but we have many achievements'
INTERVIEW | The Pakatan Harapan government has obtained many achievements despite being slammed for unfulfilled election promises, according to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In a special media interview ahead of the Harapan government's one-year anniversary today, Mahathir said the ruling coalition had performed well, given the trying circumstances it was in...
INTERVIEW | The Pakatan Harapan government has obtained many achievements despite being slammed for unfulfilled election promises, according to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In a special media interview ahead of the Harapan government's one-year anniversary today, Mahathir said the ruling coalition had performed well, given the trying circumstances it was in.
"We don't go around to shout it all the time, but there are achievements," he told local journalists at his office in Putrajaya on Monday.
"I think we are doing quite well, considering the circumstances (we are in)," Mahathir said, referring to RM1 trillion national debt and expensive contracts involving several mega-projects which were re-visited.
Harapan found that it faced a bigger problem than it had originally thought, due to a lack of information, he added.
Asked about the achievements, Mahathir said among them were keeping the "fragile" Harapan united after one year in power, with the coalition still preferring him as its leader.
"Firstly, nobody expected us to win. They said this coalition is fragile and that we will break up very quickly.
"But that has not happened. We have stayed together, worked together and we are very united. We have one single objective, which is to bring back the Malaysia we knew before.
"The cabinet we formed has performed quite well, despite the fact that many cabinet members are very new," he said, admitting problems had arisen in the past as some government leaders still thought they were opposition politicians.
"The country, I think, still feels quite happy with the change of government. The change of government is something they wanted and to a certain extent, we have achieved the objective," Mahathir said.
Harapan had also achieved its objective of eliminating corruption within the government, given that nobody has complained about having difficulties in dealing with government officials, according to him.
"We have insisted on the rule of law being upheld, and we accept the separation of powers. There was no rule of law before and people could be detained on just suspicious accusations. Now, any accusation goes to court," he said.
Mahathir also said the government's ability to save more than RM30 billion in construction costs after renegotiating the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, and the revival of the Bandar Malaysia project were achievements for Harapan.
He said Harapan was unable to fulfil its promises to abolish highway tolls as it only fully understood the implication of the compensation costs to the concessionaires after it took power.
"For the North-South Expressway (Plus) alone, we have to pay RM30 billion (to buy the highway). The question is, are we going to use the money for that or for other much more important purposes?" he asked.
"If we are to build another highway... the private sector will not invest. That will amplify our financial problem," he said.
It was reported that the government needed to fork out RM130 billion to RM145 billion to take over all the 29 tolled highways in the country and would additionally need up to RM2.5 billion to maintain these highways annually.
Putrajaya is negotiating with Gamuda Bhd to acquire the concessions for four highways to start with. They are the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), the Western KL Traffic Dispersal System (Sprint Expressway), the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) and the Smart Tunnel.
In the interview held at his office on Monday, Mahathir also acknowledged that his government failed to abolish the death sentence. "We have to study how we are going to implement the death penalty, for example," he said.
It was reported that the new government had decided to abolish the death sentence in October 2018 and planned to amend the relevant laws in Parliament in March this year.
However, earlier this month, de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said the government was still engaging with various stakeholders on the matter and expected this to be completed within two months.
RELATED REPORTS
'Some love me, some want me dead' – Dr M on bouquets and daggers
I like being told where I've gone wrong - Mahathir
Dr M: Anwar will have free hand to do what's best for M'sia
Dr M concedes Harapan walking tightrope over race and religion
Dr M: Those who want MB as Johor Bersatu chief have not met me
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.