Dr M: Incompetent government officers and old laws a bane to our mission

Where do we stand now: Dr Mahathir explaining the achievements so far by Pakatan during Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

ARCHAIC laws and problems in the civil service are posing a hurdle to Pakatan Harapan fulfilling its promises for the first 100 days, says the Prime Minister.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said some government officers were incompetent and needed to be replaced.

“And new officers who replace them do not have enough experience. These are just some of the obstacles that we are facing,” he said, adding that 70 days into the new administration, two out of its 10 promises had been fulfilled.

Six promises, he said, were in the midst of implementation while two others had yet to be carried out.

“We must remember; besides the 10 promises in 100 days, there is a lot of other work that needs to be done.

“The priority is to clean up the government – from corruption and abuse of power under the previous administration,” he told Fong Kui Lun (PH-Bukit Bintang)

Efforts to fulfil all 10 promises, he said, were being carried out according to the law but that as this would require proper study and planning, time was needed.

For example, he said on the pledge for the government to give RM50 for every contribution to the proposed pension scheme for housewives, it had to find out more about the situation as well as the losses.

Some of the promises that had been swiftly carried out without involving costs included removing National Higher Education Fund Corporation defaulters from the blacklist, said Dr Mahathir.

To a question from Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau), he said the Pakatan manifesto was not a binding document.

“I did not realise that Rembau (Khairy Jamaluddin) regarded the manifesto as a sacred book.

“However, even if it is assumed as such, on our side, we consider it a manifesto – not something binding that we cannot move.

“We do not regard the manifesto as a Quran or Bible. When we reach a hurdle, we find ways to overcome it,” he said in fielding his first question in the new Parliament after arriving at 10.19am.

On oil royalties for petroleum-producing states, Dr Mahathir told Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang) that it was hoped that the funds would be used for the good of the states and not to strengthen political parties and other similar purposes.

In the lobby, Dr Mahathir affirmed Pakatan’s promise to provide every petroleum-producing state with 20% of the oil royalties.

“Yes, everybody will get 20% of profits from their area. If the area produces small profits, they get it from that area.

“But it is from the profit, not a cost item,” he said.

On Tun Daim Zainuddin’s meeting with senior officials in China, Dr Mahathir said he thought that the Council of Eminent Persons head was trying to renegotiate the loans and contracts that Malaysia had given to the Chinese companies.

“Because we have found these very costly and (that) part of the money is not really needed (and) find out how we should deal with the part that we do not need,” he said.

Asked if the meetings had been productive, he said Daim has yet to report to him.- Star