Tun M Explains Why Malaysians Need To Be Patient With The PH Govt's Pace Of Reforms
Things don't happen at the flick of a finger.
By Sadho Ram — 23 Jun 2018, 01:53 PM
In a Malay Mail's exclusive interview with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at his office in Perdana Leadership Foundation on Thursday, 21 June, the 92-year-old leader emphasised the need for patience saying that things don't happen at the flick of a finger
In an effort to explain how correcting policies by Najib's administration would require time, Tun Dr Mahathir gave an example of how even removing a person from their post takes time
"Because to correct things, just even to remove a person, takes time.
"It takes several days, just to remove (a person), because we have to study his background, what he has done, how much he has taken, every case against him.
"Then you ask him to resign or sack him. All that takes time. You can't do things just like that," Tun Dr Mahathir told Malay Mail while making a gesture of flicking his finger.
"You see, just click your finger, and thing happens. It doesn't happen that way."
He, however, added that the newly formed Pakatan Harapan Government will have to show results before the next election
"But I just cannot do it in one day," Tun Dr Mahathir said, stressing the fact that he has been working non-stop to deliver the reforms promised by his PH coalition.
"I'm working, in between giving you interviews, I'm working," he quipped while pointing towards the huge stack of folders on his table.
According to Malay Mail, when they entered Tun Dr Mahathir's office, the 92-year-old leader was busy with his work, meeting visitors for two hours.
And while preparations for the Malay Mail interview proceeded, the Prime Minister didn't stop to take his eyes off his folders, scanning each line.
"I think people should be patient. But, of course, we can't take too long. We have to show results very quickly. And I think we will show results," he added.
In fact, some three weeks prior to Tun Dr Mahathir's thoughts on the need for Malaysians to be patient with the new government, Reverend Father Clarence Devadass, the director at the Catholic Research Centre in KL, had also urged people to be patient
"There is a moral reawakening in Malaysia. Their conscience was pricked and they responded. Ethnicity is no longer an issue. But people are looking for quick fixes.
"My fear is that people will become impatient. Pakatan gave themselves 100 days... and if you don't see results, people will start getting impatient and pessimism will come back again," Devadass had said in Petaling Jaya on 30 May.
According to the Revered Father, reforms could mean "going back to our traditions to work towards a new Malaysia that our forefathers dreamt of."
"The key to getting all this right is patience. We need to be patient and give our leaders space and support them. I think we all have a role to play, every one of us, no matter what age or ethnicity," The Malaysian Insight quoted him as saying.
More recently, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in Channel NewsAsia's interview programme Conversation With on Thursday, revealed how Tun Dr Mahathir is very impatient to carry out reforms
LGE explained how the current Tun Dr Mahathir is different from his previous self.
"At every Cabinet meeting, he allows us to speak freely, and he insists that we must observe the rule of law. He emphasises that, of course, even though we suffered under the previous government — he himself suffered — but said we should not seek revenge. Our duty is to create a better country," Lim told Channel NewsAsia.
"He wants Malaysia to move forward and he is very committed to fulfilling the promises of Pakatan Harapan. If you remember, he had said that he wanted to take up the Education Ministry portfolio. But when it was pointed out to him that it was contrary to the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, he immediately backtracked.
"Now, would he had done the same under Mahathir version 1.0? Perhaps Not. But the present Tun Dr M has shown his reformist spirit, and that he intends to be a man of his word," the Finance Minister said during the interview with Channel NewsAsia.
