Kadir tells ministers to do heavy lifting, not leave everything to Dr M

Pakatan Harapan leaders should do their bit to sell Malaysia to domestic and international investors as it is unreasonable to leave the task to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Bersatu supreme council member A Kadir Jasin, who wrote in a blog post entitled 'Talk to the world for the good of the country' today, said that while the Harapan ship is steady, its ministers need to be more proactive.

Kadir, who serves as communication and media advisor to Mahathir, was in Singapore last week with Muhammed Abdul Khalid, economic advisor to the prime minister, to talk to fund managers, analysts and journalists.

"We have done so much since Pakatan Harapan won the May 9, 2018 General Elections yet it appeared to me that so little is known by the international investors," said Kadir.

"Ministers in charge of the economy, finance and trade, in particular, must be both jaguh kampong (village champions) and jaguh dunia (global champions).

“If they have been doing this, please quicken the tempo and if they haven't yet, please start. We have many good stories to tell and should not be embarrassed to tell them.”

Kadir called on ministers to be more visible and be willing to participate in investment briefings and conferences at the global level.

Taking aim at those who failed to do so, Kadir said, "I am annoyed by the reluctance of some key ministers to engage with local and international businessmen, investors and fund managers."

He said that foreign investors and observers were not so worried about Mahathir’s leadership of the country and were in fact encouraged by his quick adaptation to the new political environment.

Concerns over leadership transition

In addressing the leadership transition issue, Kadir said he reminded the audience in Singapore that Mahathir’s current tenure is different from the last one from 1981 to 2003.

"Not only that he is leading a different coalition, but he is also being governed by a set of new governance, transparency and accountability regimes.”

According to Kadir, he met those who were concerned about the leadership transition between Mahathir and prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim.

"I sense that the level of confidence in his (Mahathir's) administration is high but the recurring concern is the transition of power to Anwar Ibrahim.

“I told them that while the Harapan election promises were not cast in stone, the transition from Mahathir to Anwar was clearly stated and was the lynchpin in the pre-election agreement that led to Mahathir leading Harapan into battle and, thereon, to victory.

“I told them that they should be encouraged by Anwar’s recent statements that he wasn’t in a hurry and that Dr Mahathir would continue to play a major role thereafter.

“As for fears that there would be U-turns in policies when the new prime minister comes in, I assured them that it is unlikely because Anwar himself is actively involved in putting them in place in his capacity as a member of the Harapan Presidential Council and through his regular consultations with the PM.

"Also, having been a witness to Mahathir-Anwar political collaboration and confrontation since 1982 when Anwar joined Umno - I don’t think the prime minister-in-waiting would repeat the miscalculations of the past," he said.

‘Umno and PAS tainted’

Kadir also slammed Umno and PAS for their willingness to play with racial and religious sentiments.

"They will continue with it because they are weak in other areas. Both parties are tainted by corruption and secret political funding,” he said.

While Kadir acknowledged that “race, ethnicity, religion and geography will continue to be important in Malaysian politics”, he stressed that Harapan “will continue to embrace and celebrate our diversity”.

"Race and religion are not the cause for alarm but racism and religious extremism are, and the Harapan government will act tough on people spreading racial and religious hatred.” - Mkini