THE Council of Eminent Persons’ 100-day report is kept secret because some matters are still being discussed and cannot be publicised, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

He was asked to comment on mounting criticism against the Pakatan Harapan government over its refusal to make the CEP report public.

Civil society groups have criticised the government for classifying the report under the Official Secrets Act.

“Yes, the government is being accused of not being transparent. I don’t know what we are not telling, when we tell the people everything.

“But there are things that are still being discussed that we cannot reveal until decisions have been reached. That will take us a bit of time,” he said in Langkawi today after launching the new Adya Chenang Hotel and Permodalan Kedah Bhd’s silver jubilee.

The CEP was formed after PH defeated Barisan Nasional in the 14th general election last year. 

It was tasked with advising the government on how to tackle the huge debt Malaysia had incurred under the previous BN government led by Najib Razak.

The CEP report was prepared based on its meetings with experts and stakeholders during PH’s first 100 days in Putrajaya.

Daim Zainuddin, who headed CEP, had said the report should be released but it was not his decision to make.

He however agreed with the government that some matters in the report were state secrets.

“I know the people don’t care about what Najib has done, but the reality is his actions have made it difficult for the country to recover,” Dr Mahathir said.

“The debts are so high. Many other things happened during his time. Deals that cost Malaysia losses were signed, and to cancel those contracts we are forced to pay compensation to contractors.

“This has led to higher cost, threatening our country’s finances. That is why we cannot afford to give the people the same treatment as Najib (did), such as free money.

“He was using stolen money. We are not thieves or kleptocrats. We don’t steal money. We are trying to make as much revenue as possible,” the prime minister said.

Asked what was discussed at the cabinet meeting at Sri Kijang BNM Resort in Langkawi yesterday, Dr Mahathir replied: “what was talked about is a secret.”

But he said the cabinet was of the view that the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 was a success due to the huge participation by exhibitors and visitors.

“We hope Langkawi can continue to host Lima for the years to come because it is clear that it brings many visitors to the country.

“The many deals signed at Lima also contributes to our economy,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was also asked to comment on Rostec State Corp international cooperation and regional policy director Viktor Kladov’s remarks that Russia was willing to buy more palm oil from Malaysia to improve bilateral trade.

Kladov, who is attending Lima 2019, reportedly said the palm oil purchase could be tied with arms and defence deals, technology transfer and job creation.

Dr Mahathir said there were some countries that had expressed interest to import more palm oil.

“We also have to buy products from those countries. But even though Malaysia is not buying anything now, there is some interests to invest in Langkawi.”

Malaysia and other palm oil producing countries are in a row with the European Union over the European bloc’s move to curb palm oil use.

The EU said the cultivation of oil palm causes deforestation and high green house gas emissions. – March 30, 2019.