KUALA LUMPUR: Becoming prime minister for the second time is frightening, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has revealed.
In an exclusive interview with The Edge, Dr Mahathir said his first stint as prime minister in 1981 was relatively easier, as he was simply taking the baton from his predecessor and there was no change in government at the time.
Now, however, his task seems more challenging, as it involves shaping a new government with a new manifesto.
“It’s frightening. When I first became PM in 1981, the government was intact (there was no change in government). All I had to do was fill in the Cabinet slots with names.
“Now, I have to structure the government to suit Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto and also the people’s view of what the government should be.
“People are not happy with the previous government. They think many things were done wrong and we have to dig out these wrong things,” he said.
Malaysia saw a change in government for the first time since it gained independence 61 years ago during the May 9 polls, in which PH defeated the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Dr Mahathir was sworn in as prime minister on May 10 and his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Malaysia’s first woman to hold such a position, was sworn in the following week.
Commenting further on the new government, Dr Mahathir admitted that the current environment is uncertain, as the new government has to deal with the pollution of many political appointees and civil servants who were loyal to BN.
“We have government officers who have been with the previous government. Some of them actually participated in the (recent) general election campaign. We do not know whether these people are loyal to the political party or loyal to the country.
“It is a much more difficult task than in 1981. I have to sit down and be briefed. And then I have to fill in posts with people I don’t know. It takes a lot of time to put the new government in place,” he added.