It looks like the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has their work cut out for them because of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) weak administration and poor leadership in the past. Today (21 August 2018), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad shared that the PH administration is trying to clean another massive mess that was left by the previous government.
After completing his five-day official visit to China, Tun M told Malaysian reporters that the PH administration is trying to resolve contracts and deals that were made out of “stupidity” by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s government, reported The Malay Mail.
Source: The Malay Mail
He was quoted as saying,
“Such stupidity has never been seen before in the history of Malaysia.” Ouch!
Tun M explained that the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and pipeline project contracts with Chinese companies had no exit clauses. As a result of that, Malaysia will now have to pay unreasonable compensation for stopping the projects.
Source: Lacoon
When the reporters asked Tun M if Malaysia would have to compensate the Chinese contractors, he replied that if the need arises then we would have to pay them. He also stressed that this unfavourable situation was caused by the terrible negotiations made by BN.
“It’s the stupidity of negotiations. There must be exit clauses. Now we have to pay huge sums of money,” he said.
Tun M then further elaborated on his discussions with China’s leaders while he was there for the visit. He said that he had to explain Malaysia’s current fiscal position to them in order to justify the halt of ECRL and the pipeline projects.
Source: The Star
Fortunately, China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang agreed with the reason given by Tun M because they saw that Malaysia had no other choice but to stop the projects which involved Chinese loans and contractors.
Tun M then reassured that our officials are not looking to negotiate any agreements and other matters in regards to the cancelled projects and said that he aims to find the cheapest way to exit the projects.
“We must now find a way to exit these projects at the lowest cost possible. It is all because of our stupidity,” he explained.
Source: NST
In response to being asked about how the money will be recovered, Tun M quipped that maybe they should retrieve it from Najib because it was him who signed the documents.
“He was the one after all who signed. What kind of stupidity is this?” he questioned again.
Source: FMT
This is definitely a very difficult position to come out from, especially when our country’s financial position isn’t doing all that well. Hopefully, the current administration will find an effective way to come out of this mess.
Do you agree with Tun M’s statement? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Come Back & Make Malaysia Strong Again, Tun M Tells Overseas M’sians
