I’m trying my best, but everything’s broken now, says Dr M

Dr Mahathir Mohamad says the civil service under his previous administration was efficient and as such it was easier to implement policies.

PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamed today thanked Malaysians for trusting him to “fix” the country’s problems, but said he was just an ordinary man “with weaknesses”.

“I thank you for counting on me to do a lot of things to fix the country, but it is not easy. I too, have my weaknesses, like anyone else, but I will try my best,” the prime minister said in an interview aired by RTM tonight.

He said it was easier to govern the country in the 1980s as there was an efficient civil service.

“The government machinery used to be clean and ran well. Now, we find obstacles in our path, all kinds of obstacles.”

Mahathir said this was not what he had expected when he took over the government after the May elections.

“We found that the government machinery was wholly ruined, and all the ministries ruined, because the policy was not to govern the country but to get opportunities,” he added. -FMT