New ministers barely make the grade, says Malaysia's PM Mahathir

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that it was no easy task to change the perceptions and mentality of certain Cabinet ministers. PHOTO: REUTERS

LANGKAWI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The newly appointed ministers of the Pakatan Harapan government have scored only 40 to 50 per cent in Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's books.

In an exclusive televised interview with Astro Awani on Sunday (Oct 21) evening, Tun Mahathir spontaneously assigned the mark when asked to rate the performance of his Cabinet.

He also conceded that it was no easy task to change the perceptions and mentality of certain Cabinet ministers, especially those without prior experience in government leadership positions.

He confessed that it was difficult to shift their paradigm to one held by a government leader, instead of an opposition leader.

However, Dr Mahathir, 93, acknowledged that most of them are coping and are quick learners for the sake of improving their performance.

In a report carried by the channel's online portal, Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying that some are new and inexperienced.

"But they are learning quickly," he added.

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