KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was contacted by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz this morning to arrange a meeting believed to be related to the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
The former prime minister was quoted by Astro Awani as saying that he had yet to agree to the meeting with Tengku Zafrul, who is also the NRP coordinating minister.
“We want to see (what kind of implementation), setting up a body (or any committee) is easy, but working on it, (especially) to lower the number of new (Covid-19) cases, needs a lot of new ideas.
“I don’t know if the finance minister has any ideas on how to reduce (the number of cases), but he asked to meet me, I don’t know, I haven’t made a decision yet, I listened (when he called) this morning,” said the Pejuang chairman.
Dr Mahathir said this when met by the media after inspecting the Covid-19 Vaccination Outreach Programme at the KEDA Hall on Pulau Tuba, here.
He also said he hopes that the government will not fuel public anger further with actions and plans that he described as futile and would only make matters worse.
The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday announced Tengku Zafrul’s new responsibility following the first meeting of the cabinet’s special committee on the NRP which was held virtually.
In his new role, which was agreed upon at the cabinet meeting, Tengku Zafrul will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the strategy and aid, while taking measures that are proactive and suited to the dynamic Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Dr Mahathir proposed a National Recovery Council consisting of experts on health, virus, economy, psychiatry, and sociology, among others.
He said that Pejuang will table the motion to create the council when Parliament reconvenes, citing the need to do so quickly as more and more people are seen suffering amid the government’s National Recovery Plan. – The Vibes, July 10, 2021
