GEORGE TOWN: There is no issue over the appointment of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the interim education minister, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The DAP secretary-general said the people should not dispute the prime minister’s act of holding two ministerial portfolios as going against Pakatan Harapan (PH)'s election manifesto since it was only a temporary appointment.
“He (Dr Mahathir) is only the interim education minister pending the appointment of a new minister. What we said in our election manifesto applies for permanent appointment.
“This (Dr Mahathir’s appointment as interim education minister) is only temporary,” he said when asked on dispute raised by certain quarters on Dr Mahathir's appointment as the interim education minister effective Jan 3.
The appointment was agreed to by the cabinet during a meeting on Jan 8.
Dr Mahathir took over the post from Dr Maszlee Malik who resigned as the Education Minister on Jan 2. The prime minister would hold the position until a new education minister is appointed.
Elaborating further, Lim said there would be a minister replacing him for a certain duration when he goes abroad for holidays or official meetings.
“When I am away, say for a two-week period, there must be a minister taking over from me. And that is only temporary as well. This is what it means.
“But in this case, it may be longer. Not two weeks. Maybe a month or two, but it is still temporary. It depends on the new appointment to be made by the prime minister," he said.
In page 38 of PH’s Buku Harapan manifesto, under the section ‘Pillar 2: Institutional and Political Reform’, it is listed under ‘Promise 12: Limit the Prime Minister’s term of office and restructure the Prime Minister’s Department’, the manifesto states that “The Prime Minister will not simultaneously hold other ministerial posts, especially the post of Minister of Finance”.
On Proton Perdana to be retained as the official car for ministers and their deputies, Lim said the problem with getting confirmation for the supply was because the Perdana cars were no longer being sold.
"So, when I said that the Perdana would be retained, it means that the supplier has to separately assemble the cars.
“That was why we could not get the confirmation on the supply earlier. Only when we get the confirmation, we can verify the matter," he said, adding that he had been asked about the problem in getting the confirmation.
He said there were also others who questioned why Toyota Vellfire units were recommended as an alternative.
"Like I explained, the Perdana cars were no longer in production, especially the limousines used by the ministers. This means, the supplier has to assemble the cars separately.
"So, when we got the confirmation, we decided to stick to the Perdana fleet. You understand what I mean?
“There are those who don't understand why we can't get the confirmation. This is because they don’t know the Perdana is no longer on sale,” he added.
Lim yesterday had said that Perdana would be retained as the official car for ministers and their deputies.
He had explained that when the matter of the contract for the supply of cars for official government use was discussed following the conclusion of the earlier contract in 2019, his team was informed by the supplier that there was an insufficient supply of Proton Perdana units.