KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday he would consider a Cabinet reshuffle to address growing public discontent over his young government's handling of the country, days after a stinging by-election loss.
His Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition suffered its worst electoral defeat last Saturday since coming to power in May last year when the opposition scored a more than 15,000-vote majority in a by-election for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat.
Tun Dr Mahathir said leaders in his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia outfit, which contested the by-election under the PH banner, felt a Cabinet reshuffle was needed to address public complaints on issues such as high living costs and the economy.
"As the prime minister, I am responsible for a Cabinet reshuffle. I have listened to their views, and I will consider their position on having a Cabinet reshuffle," he said at a news conference broadcast on the party's Facebook page.
"But it won't be today or tomorrow, but after we study and consider the achievements and abilities of our current ministers. After that, then we will discuss the possibility of having a Cabinet reshuffle."
However, Dr Mahathir said he might not be keen on shaking up his Cabinet line-up if it ends up derailing the policies that his government had set out to implement - and especially if it gets in the way of Malaysia hosting next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.
"The act of reshuffling itself is not a solution. It may be a problem, even. There is still a lot of work to be done," Dr Mahathir said. "Next year, we face a big issue in that we are the hosts of the Apec meeting. We can't take this lightly... We want to prepare ourselves as best as possible."
Meanwhile, Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday the results of the by-election came as an "extraordinary surprise", where Malaysians used the ballot box to send a clear message to the PH government.
Despite the disastrous defeat, he expressed dismay that certain leaders still acted as though nothing had happened.
"In PH, we must be humble. It seemed as though the people are angry, or they want to protest or they want to teach us a lesson. So learn quickly.
"If we are still continuing with our old ways by showing off power, distributing projects, buying over people and using fake news, this will not help us at all," said Mr Anwar.
REUTERS, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
