KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) is facing challenges brought about by an election manifesto that has limited its power as the government, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in a news report today.
The Star Online quoted Dr Mahathir as saying that among the challenges faced was making it compulsory for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman to be a member of the Opposition.
This, he added, had put the government in a position to be scrutinised.
“Many other things we put in the manifesto thinking we would be Opposition, but now we are the government.
“Among the things we put in our promises is to limit the prime minister’s power, then we discover that we are in power, and we limit the power that we now have,” he was quoted as saying by The Star Online today.
Dr Mahathir, who was reported to be at a Merdeka event organised by Malaysians for Malaysia, said that taking over Putrajaya turned out to be the easiest part for the coalition.
“We thought it was the hard part, but we (now) realise that it’s the easy part,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
He, however, added that PH’s victory had brought Malaysians some sense of relief and freedom as the old regime has been removed.
Elaborating on the people’s sense of freedom in a separate report by The Malaysian Insight, Dr Mahathir said: “They feel they are no longer oppressed. There was fear before. You can’t do this, you can’t do that.
“If you are seen being friendly with somebody, it is wrong.
“And then the Income Tax Department comes along and ask you to pay more tax.”
Dr Mahathir made a surprise appearance at the event where he was seen with daughter Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Deputy Women, Family and Community Minister Hannah Yeoh, Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong and Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.
