PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has described his 22 years as Malaysia’s fourth prime minister as fairly easy, compared to today’s task of saving the country from financial destruction.

Dr Mahathir, who came out of retirement to lead Pakatan Harapan (PH) to a stunning victory in the 14th general election, said the previous administration had accumulated massive debt as well as earned an international reputation for corruption.

“Well my first 20 years as prime minister was fairly easy. I inherited a system that is already there. All I had to do is to introduce new ideas so that we can expedite the growth and development of Malaysia.

“But here I am dealing with a country that has been actually destroyed. Its finances have been destroyed. The system of government has been ignored and not used and a new system, or rather an authoritarian system has been introduced,” he said in an interview with VOA.

The PH government is now going after former prime minister Najib Razak, who is being investigated for money laundering in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

The state fund, the brainchild of Najib, has accumulated billions of dollars in debt since its inception in 2009.

After days of raiding Najib’s home and premises linked to him, police found RM114 million in cash, hundreds of designer handbags, jewellery and other luxury items.

This week, Najib had spent two days at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters answering questions related to the SRC International case.

He is accused of corruption and other wrongdoings related to 1MDB, of which SRC International was a subsidiary.

“The previous government has accumulated huge amounts of borrowings from other countries, from foreign banks, and even from local sources, so the first thing that we need to do of course is to ensure that we are able to service the loans, at least, and to try to reduce the principle that has been borrowed,” Dr Mahathir said.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng recently confirmed Dr Mahathir’s statement on Malaysia’s RM1 trillion debt, saying the debt comprises RM686.8 billion in federal debt, RM199.1 billion in guarantees and RM201.4 billion for public-private partnership projects. – May 26, 2018.