LANGKAWI: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he will look into allegations of the existence of a ‘deep state’ within the civil service aimed at sabotaging the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
He said, in a Bernama report today, that if there was merit to such claims, the government would be able to handle and contain the problem.
“I don’t know if such a thing is taking place but if a 'hidden state' exists, I think we can contain it, no problem.
"Before this, there's also problems when I was the prime minister, but we could still continue to administer... I will deal with it, I will have a look and study it first,’’ he was quoted as saying.
Dr Mahathir said this after attending a gathering at the Adya Hotel, Kuah here.
Asked if the transfer of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry secretary general Datuk Mohd Sallehhuddin Hassan was related to the so-called "deep state", he said he was unsure and would seek further explanation on the matter.
Meanwhile, on another matter, Dr Mahathir said the national anthem, Negaraku should only be sung in the national language.
However, he pointed out that there was nothing wrong in translating the lyrics to other languages for better understanding.
‘’We cannot sing (Negaraku) in other languages. What is written in the book is to show the meaning so that non-Malays can understand the wordings, but it is not for singing in other languages other than our national language,’’ he said.
The prime minister said this when asked to comment on a recent viral video showing pupils singing Negaraku in Mandarin at a school in Negri Sembilan.
On Friday, the Education Ministry issued a statement saying it would not compromise on any breach of regulations outlined in the Federal Constitution, whether intentional or otherwise, with regard to Negaraku.