PAKATAN Harapan’s manifesto was crafted by an opposition that did not believe it would actually win federal power, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad, adding that the pact, nevertheless, remains committed to fulfilling all its promises.
“Many things were included in the manifesto (based on the) thinking (that) we would be the opposition. But now, we are the government. We are not used to being the government.
“Among the things we put in the manifesto was, limiting the prime minister’s power. Then, we discovered that we are the power, and we limit the power we have now.
“The prime minister only having two terms is fine by me. If we have a prime minister (who is) 100 (years old), it would be a world record,” the 93-year-old said at the “Malaysians for Malaysia” Merdeka celebrations in Kuala Lumpur today.
The prime minister said PH leaders, after taking over Putrajaya, found themselves in an unfamiliar position, as many had spent decades opposing the ruling government.
“We realised that (winning) was the easy part. We thought it would be the hard part.
“Now that we are the government, there is a little bit of discomfort for those who had been opposing the ruling government for 61 years. They now find it difficult to be the government.
“They don’t know how to behave, and they find that the manifesto is against them.”
Present were Dr Mahathir’s daughter and rights activist Marina Mahathir, deputy minister Hannah Yeoh, former Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, lawyer Siti Kasim and women’s rights activist Ivy Josiah. Some 200 people were in attendance.
Dr Mahathir said PH must keep its word on providing more room for checks and balances, including the pledge that the Public Accounts Committee chairman would be from the opposition.
“We promised this, so we must have ourselves examined and scrutinised by the opposition, which was previously the ruling government.
“I think we will stick to our promises. We will try our hardest to deliver on our promises. So far, so good, because people still seem to be very relieved (that the previous government has been ousted).”
He said with Barisan Nasional’s historic defeat, Malaysians no longer felt oppressed.
“Sometimes, we catch them smiling to themselves. They feel there are no longer oppressed. There was fear before.
“Smiling to ourselves, it’s okay, but what’s important is the delivery. We need to deliver on our promises.”
Dr Mahathir said he was happy that Putrajaya was once again the venue for the annual Merdeka parade, adding that the wide central boulevard was designed for such purposes.
He spoke only briefly, and stayed for just an hour. Organisers were informed of his attendance a mere three hours before the event began. – August 31, 2018.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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