KUALA LUMPUR – Former finance minister and DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has said he is willing to serve in “any capacity”, following speculation that he would not be included in the new cabinet.
He said what mattered was the larger national interest of the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Whether I am in the cabinet or not is secondary to the importance that the future of our country must not be stolen.
“Let me state my willingness to serve in any capacity so long as it serves the larger national interest that the current unity government led by Anwar can continue to function and remain stable against extremist forces seeking to undermine and topple it,” Lim said in a statement today to respond to “repeated” questioning by the press on his alleged exclusion from the cabinet.
He reiterated that cabinet appointments are the prime minister’s prerogative.
Chinese-language media as well as the New Straits Times have been quoting unnamed sources who said Lim would not be part of Anwar’s cabinet.
Lim’s 22 months as finance minister saw Pakatan Harapan undertake a belt-tightening approach that ruffled some feathers, and he recently apologised to Sarawakians for any offensive past remarks.
Lim did not state what he was specifically apologising for but the Bagan MP had made several critical remarks against Sarawak over the sums the state owed to the federal government.
He claimed that the state would go bankrupt in three years under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.
Lim also provoked further ire when he said the Finance Ministry will not channel up to RM350 million for dilapidated school repair projects in Sarawak as long as the state government does not repay its debts of the same amount to the federal government.
The Finance Ministry under Lim had also cut allowances for land fishery subsistence in the 2019 national budget, drawing complaints from those in the sector.
There are also views that Lim should not be included in the cabinet because of his ongoing Penang undersea tunnel project court case, as similar demands are being made not to include Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Anwar is expected to announce his cabinet in the next few days after meeting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong this morning reportedly to hand over the appointees’ names. – The Vibes, December 2, 2022
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