Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the country will take another 10 to 15 years to reclaim its role as an Asian Tiger.
He said he believes in the next three years, the country’s problems will be reduced but not to the extent of recovering easily.
“It may take between 10 and 15 years for us to recover and be an Asian Tiger,” said the PM.
He reiterated that the Pakatan Harapan government has achieved a milestone in lessening the pressure on Malaysia’s financial situation, adding that not many countries would have been able to achieve this feat.
The national news agency, Dr Mahathir is quoted as saying to Bernama Radio, “I feel there are many problems that we can mitigate; we were able to handle our financial problem. We are no longer under pressure from the financial problem because we have managed it prudently.”
For that reason, he said, Malaysia is calm and peaceful and the country is not pressured to the extent of having those who have given us loans making demands, pressuring us.
“That has not happened,” he said, stressing that, “We can handle the financial situation of our country. We can say this is an achievement.”
Dr Mahathir, who is celebrating his 94th birthday today and has the distinction of being the oldest PM in the world, insists the country has a heavier debt than what the Barisan Nasional government headed by Najib Razak revealed.
Bernama says Dr Mahathir revealed the severity of the country’s financial problem after he once again became part of the government following the May 2018 general election.
“When we came to power and we were able to see from within, we found that the problem was much bigger (than what the public knew) and that it will take some time (to be overcome),” he told Bernama Radio.
The Pakatan regime has since then taken measures to mitigate the country’s financial woes, reviewing mega projects and past deals under the previous government and going after the allegedly stolen 1MDB funds.
His government has also declared an all-out-war against corruption but it was also hit by a series of scandals, including a gay sex video allegedly involving one of the top ministers in his cabinet.
Today, a member of Pakatan’s executive council in the state of Perak was arrested after a woman claimed the politician raped her.
The country had a moment of fluctuation last year after violence broke out at Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya.
Several people were arrested, a fireman died and several cars were burnt during two nights of violence.
The country is also seeing some political instability with the lack of a timeline and a date for the retirement of Dr Mahathir. -/TISG