PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has once again reiterated that there is no need for a Cabinet reshuffle presently.
"There is no Cabinet reshuffle because we want to give them (ministers) a chance to improve themselves," he said.
Dr Mahathir who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman said this when asked if a reshuffle was on the cards after the party's annual general meeting (AGM) ends on Sunday.
The prime minister remarked how it was unfair to make a performance comparison of the ministers in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government today.
"Who are we comparing against, are we comparing against Najib?" he asked referring to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Dr Mahathir was speaking in an interview with senior editors of local news organisations at his office in Putrajaya recently.
On Nov 13, Dr Mahathir in an interview with the Singapore Straits Times said he was open to a reshuffle should he receive new candidate suggestions from PKR. At the time PKR had recently concluded its party polls.
Since then, there has been no reshuffle and it is now Bersatu's turn to hold their AGM. However, there are no party polls taking place in Bersatu's AGM.
Previously, talks were rife of former senior Umno leader Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed who is now a Bersatu member being included in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, when asked if he would continue to lead Bersatu when he was no longer prime minister, Dr Mahathir said: "I will continue to be Bersatu chairman because I am still a member of Parliament. I just won't be the prime minister."
This was said with reference to talks of PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim taking over from Dr Mahathir as prime minister at some point in the near future.
Asked to evaluate Bersatu leaders in his Cabinet, Dr Mahathir said they were still new.
"Some have come to see me for advise.
"There are times they get too excited and make statements that are not good for the party or themselves.
"We cannot expect newbies to become experts on the first day of work. Some make mistakes, however, it can be corrected," he said.