PAKATAN Harapan has weathered through the worst of the “legacies of chaos” inherited from the previous administration in the last one year, although resolving economic woes continues to be a struggle, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

“We were and still are struggling to resolve our economic debilities battered by the financial shenanigans of the previous administration.

“A year had passed and I am happy to state that we have managed to overcome the worst of the legacies of chaos we inherited,” the prime minister said in his keynote address at the 33rd Asia-Pacific roundtable.

Efforts to resuscitate the economy won’t only depend on domestic policies but also on regional and global geopolitical developments which could potentially threaten such strategies and plans, Dr Mahathir said.

On that note, he said the country has to continue to be alert on external uncertainties and disruption and be prepared to counter them.

He said the US-China trade war won’t bring any benefit to the two economic superpowers and other countries like Malaysia.

Dr Mahathir said high expectations were placed on the government to provide better direction in its foreign policy.

On the domestic front, hopes were pinned on PH to clean the economic mess that the previous administration had left behind.

“A year has passed and I am happy to state that we have managed to overcome the worst of ... the chaos we inherited,” the prime minister said in his keynote address at the 33rd Asia-Pacific Rroundtable.

Efforts to resuscitate the economy won’t depend only on domestic policies but also on regional and global geopolitical developments which could potentially threaten such strategies and plans, Dr Mahathir said.

Commenting on the US-China trade war, Dr Mahathir said Asean is too insignificant to intervene in the confrontation the two economic giants.

“They’re (US and China) very powerful, they have their own minds and in fact we have to follow what they say. If they apply sanctions to a any country we too are affected by the sanctions.”

By trading with countries sanctioned by the US, Asean members too could be at risk.

Dr Mahathir said while Asean cannot take a strong political stance on the trade tensions rocking the global economy, it has expressed its views on it.

“This confrontation between China and Us will not benefit any one of them and also will not benefit us.”

“I hope that eventually good sense will prevail among leaders of both countries and particularly to the country that initiated this trade war,” he said, alluding to the US. – June 25, 2019.