Investments still doing okay in absence of transition timeline - Mahathir

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (above) does not believe that the absence of a concrete timeline for him to hand over power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has adversely impacted investor sentiment.

"I don't know. For me, everything is okay and there are still people investing until now," he told journalists at the Yayasan Sejahtera 2019 event in conjunction with the international poverty eradication day in Kuala Lumpur today.

Mahathir said this when asked about Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin's claim that the uncertainty in the power transition timeline had caused the private sector to hold back their investment in the country, leading to a 1.9 percent decline in private investment in the first half of this year.

"They were not investing in machinery, equipment due to lack of a clear direction from the economic perspective and the political uncertainty.

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"While the investors joked about it, deep down they felt insecure," Khairy had said when debating the Budget 2020 speech in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

In January last year, Pakatan Harapan leaders agreed to nominate Mahathir as their prime ministerial candidate on the condition that he eventually hands the premiership to Anwar, but no timeline was outlined.

Mahathir had indicated that he will need two to three years as prime minister.

On a separate matter, Mahathir said Malaysia will resort to diplomatic channels if India decides to impose curbs on the import of Malaysian palm oil.

"If they initiate a boycott or something similar, we will deal with it diplomatically to de-escalate," he said.

On Monday, Reuters reported that Indian refiners have stopped buying Malaysian palm oil for shipment in November and December as they feared that New Delhi could raise import taxes on the product or enforce other curbs.

This comes after India became angered over Mahathir's criticism of the country's actions in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir, where India has stripped the Muslim-majority region of its special status that granted it substantial autonomy.

Earlier, Mahathir told the forum on poverty about the need to ensure everyone has access to basic infrastructure.

"Experience has taught us that economic growth alone does not mean development for all.

"A country cannot consider itself to be developed if segments of the community do not have access to public infrastructure, jobs with adequate salaries or access to productive assets," he said.

For these reasons, Mahathir said the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 was introduced. - Mkini