Fake news that brought down Barisan is now hurting Pakatan, says Guan Eng

Before GE14, Pakatan outlined a transition plan for Anwar to succeed Mahathir. The coalition has since said there is no timeline for this to happen but Mahathir has hinted that any change will come after Malaysia’s hosting of the Apec summit in November.

(MMO) – Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) achievements in steering the country’s growth and reducing the fiscal deficit were overshadowed by political news.

In an interview with the Fitch Ratings on Wednesday, Lim said the political buzz surrounding PH is merely “noise”, and that the coalition was forced to expend resources to combat fake news.

He said that policy announcements by PH so far have been consistent, clear, and certain.

“At the same time we see actions taken by the government. It shows that we want to ensure civil rules, we want to be business friendly and we want a destination of choice for investors… we want to do the right thing, get the policy in the right mix to get Malaysia going again.

“But again when you talk about the political situation, the background noise, the media report, we have the same problem as the US, fake news.

“We have to spend some time to correct or dispel  the fake news. But the fact is there is stability at the top. The government is working cohesively and in concept together,” he told Fitch Ratings’ head of sovereign ratings for Asia-Pacific Stephen Schwartz.

Lim also said that the government’s economic reforms will not be jeopardised by a power transition.

Lim said PH has proven its commitment to reforms.

“Our prime minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) has said many times that the coalition that was only worked out only a few months before election can still work and everyone is committed in making this government work even after the transition process is executed.

“I will still tell investors do not worry even if there is a change of leadership (in the government). Just look at our policy document, the Pakatan Harapan general election manifesto. This is where they will judge us. And we are committed to deliver our promises,” he said.

Before 2018 general election, PH outlined a transition plan for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to succeed Dr Mahathir.

The coalition has since said there is no timeline for this to happen but Dr Mahathir has hinted that any change will come after Malaysia’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November.