Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad defended his government's record on the anniversary of its election victory and reiterated he will hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim though he wasn't clear on when.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad listens to questions during an interview with foreign media in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Thursday, May 9, 2019. Mahathir reiterates that he is an interim prime minister and will stick to his promise to hand over to his successor Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahathir told foreign journalists there had been hiccups in pushing through some reforms due to insufficient support in parliament for constitutional changes. The government has also withdrawn plans to ratify a U.N. anti-discrimination treaty and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court after coming under pressure from the majority Muslim opposition.
He was unfazed by a drop in his popularity in a recent poll by the independent Merdeka Center that showed his approval rating had dropped to 46 percent, from 71 percent last year. He said it was normal for such ratings to drop as people have high expectations over his government’s economic and institutional reform plans.
“I said that I will be an interim prime minister, I hold to that,” Mahathir said. “The successor we are thinking of has been with the party for a long time. I think if there are any changes by him, they will not be radical.”
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