KUALA LUMPUR: Those who are not confident with the way the government is implementing its promises can determine Pakatan Harapan's fate in the 15th General Election, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"If they are unsure, they can vote during the 15th General Election. They can vote to determine Pakatan's fate," he told reporters at a press conference at the Muslim Welfare Organisation of Malaysia (Perkim) 58th national Annual General Meeting here Saturday (Nov 30).
The Prime Minister, however, added at the press conference that it would take a full five-year term for the government to implement all of its election promises.
Dr Mahathir was asked to comment on the findings of the National Worry Index (NWI) survey, which showed that respondents are generally unsure if the country's future is on the right track.
The index – released by think-tank Emir Research – found a further 24% of Malaysians categorically saying the country's future direction is on the wrong track.
It also found that bread-and-butter issues ranked high, with 86% worried about the cost of basic needs and unaffordable homes, followed by lack of job opportunities at 77%.
In response to this, Dr Mahathir said that a weak currency was one of the reasons behind a high cost of living.
"One of the reasons is there are parties that have reduced our currency. Previously, our currency was about RM3.80 to one US Dollar but now it is about RM4.20 to one US Dollar and now everything that we want to buy has become expensive," he said.
Dr Mahathir also said that there were many layers when it comes to the food supply chain and added that these issues would be discussed by the government.
Dr Mahathir then said that the Pakatan coalition did not get the full picture when it was drafting its election manifesto.
"When we took over, we found more problems left by the previous government that were more damaging than we expected. This is why it will take some time to achieve our goals," he said.
On a separate matter, the Prime Minister said the government was still studying amendments to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.
"We do not simply want to release terrorists who will make bombs and detonate it here and there. We cannot give these individuals bail," he said.
Dr Mahathir added that those who are charged with sabotaging the economy despite there being no concrete support could be given bail and should not be detained for too long.
"At the moment, we want to reduce the detention period of 28 days," he added.
On Nov 6, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government plans to reduce the remand period of 28 days to 14 days for those detained under Sosma.
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