This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 7, 2019

PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has given what he described as a “conservative” score of five out of 10 to his cabinet ministers — many of whom are first-time ministers — ahead of the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s first year anniversary in government.

The score was for their performance over the past one year following their appointment after Pakatan took over the government from Barisan Nasional in the 14th General Election on May 9.

“Out of 10, five I think, [that] would be about 50%. I’m very conservative because I’ve been in the government for [over] 22 years. I know how government functions but these people are new, [so] they do not know how the government functions,” he told a special press conference with the local media yesterday, ahead of the government’s upcoming first anniversary.

“On top of it, they are afraid of being accused of wrongdoings, and all these things make decision-making by them more difficult. But they are learning very fast,” he said.

He also said they sometimes sought his consultation because he has the experience to help.

“I try to teach and try to guide them so that they can perform. But they are performing. I don’t see any reason why I should restructure the cabinet and I believe that eventually they are going to be as good as any experienced members,” he added.

Asked to confirm if this meant there would be no reshuffling of the cabinet, he said: “There will be no cabinet reshuffle, am I clear?”

As to how he would rate himself, he said: “I normally don’t rate myself. It is others who will rate me. If you rate me, how much [will you give]? As in 1 to 10, how? Bad huh? Very bad?” he quipped.

No viable solution yet to turn around Malaysia Airlines

Separately, Dr Mahathir said the government has yet to receive any viable proposal to turn around national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd.

“We have a problem with Malaysia Airlines. I think the losses [and] the bad management have been so terrible that it is very difficult to turn it around. As you know, the last government gave it RM6 billion [in funds via Khazanah Nasional Bhd] and then they sacked 6,000 people, and then they don’t fly to 60% of the destinations it used to.

“So, if you decrease the number of people but you do less work relative to the work that you did [previously], there is no gain. Everybody tells me it should be done this way or that way, but nobody has come up with a proper solution that can actually succeed, in our opinion.

“Sometimes we thought that we might as well sell the airline. You know, the Italian airline now belongs to the Arabs,” he said, referring to the Italian airline Meridiana, in which Qatar Airways bought a 49% stake in 2017 and rebranded Air Italy, which is now the second largest airline in Italy.

“So many airlines have been sold to other people because the airline business now is very competitive after the emergence of low-cost carriers. Now the high-cost carriers do not get passengers. And then we have the Arab airlines which provide luxurious facilities and all kinds of perks — I don’t know how they make money but people cannot challenge them. So it is a very difficult business now,” he said.

However, the government has yet to make a decision on the airline’s fate, Dr Mahathir added.

MRT3 still too costly at the moment

The mass rapid transit 3 (MRT3) or Circle Line 3 project is still too costly to be revived, Dr Mahathir said.

“It is too costly at the moment. We don’t have money, [so] we have to cut down on the construction, so we will have to take time... We know it is useful, but even if it is useful ... For example, it’ll be a great thing if we can have a high-speed rail from Singapore to Hat Yai, but we don’t have the money. We can borrow the money, [but] then we’ll have problems with financing.

“So, everything depends on circumstances. It is easy to promise but when you come in and become responsible, you find that you have to abide by the exigencies of the situation that we are faced with,” Dr Mahathir said.

He was responding to speculations that the shelved rail project, previously estimated to cost RM45 billion, could be revived at half its cost.

According to The Edge Malaysia weekly in its May 6-12 publication, quoting people familiar with the matter, the federal government, together with construction giant Gamuda Bhd, have had talks over the past few months to look at reviving the project for about RM22.5 billion.

Though there are no details yet of the plans being discussed, or what will enable Gamuda to slash the price, a source told the weekly that the government “is quite receptive to the MRT3 proposal, after the reduced cost”. The 40km MRT3, the last of the MRT lines in the Klang Valley that would largely serve the city centre, was slated to pass through areas like Kerinchi, Jalan Duta, Setiawangsa, Salak Selatan, Pandan Indah, and Bandar Malaysia via underground rail tracks.