DR Mahathir Mohamad today poked fun at Putrajaya for appointing Guan Dee Koh Hoi as the new deputy minister for tourism, arts and culture to revive the tourism sector, which was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am glad that Malaysia has found a solution that will bring torrents of tourists to the country.

“It is, I am told, by appointing a candidate who had lost in several elections and losing his deposit as well, to be a senator and making him a deputy minister of tourism,” he wrote in his blog.

Dr Mahathir was referring to 68-year-old Guan Dee who is Sabah’s Party Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) secretary-general. Guan Dee took the oath of office at a ceremony at Istana Negara on April 16.

He was appointed to the post to replace Jeffrey G. Kitingan who stepped down from the post after being sworn in as Sabah deputy chief minister II and Sabah minister of agriculture and fisheries on September 29, 2020.

Guan Dee had lost his deposit in three elections, prompting many to question the government’s decision to appoint him.

He first stood for a state seat as a candidate for the United Democratic Sabah People’s Power Party or Setia, in the 2004 general election. In 2008, he contested under PKR. Then in 2013 he contested in the Beaufort parliamentary seat for STAR. He lost his deposit on all three outings.

On Twitter, many questioned how someone with Guan Dee’s credentials could be appointed a deputy minister.

Bulletin RMS (@RajaMohdShahrim) wrote: “Contested in Beaufort, received 409 votes, lost his deposit and today he is the deputy tourism minister…this is called good fortune,” he said.

Another Twitter user juntothehan (@junthothehan) said, “New waste of space minister in tourism is 68 yer old retirement home escapee Datuk Guan Dee Koh Hui.”

Meanwhile, KNB (@nizambakeri) wrote: “Contested three times, and lost his deposit. People in Sabah don’t want him. Yet Mahiaddin appointed him as a Deputy Minister. #KerajaanGagal”.

In his blog posting, Dr Mahathir also “congratulated” Perikatan National (PN) for spending RM600 billion to revive the economy.

“And we have no money. We have spent RM600 billion. Congratulations.”

The government had allocated over RM600 billion for Budget 2021 and several stimulus packages to help Malaysians affected by Covid-19.

This included six economic aid packages totalling RM340 billion to help revive the economy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest was launched in March, called Pemerkasa, worth RM20 billion.

Others were Prihatin worth RM250 billion, Prihatin SMEs (RM10 billion), Penjana (RM35 billion), Kita Prihatin (RM10 billion) and Permai (RM15 billion). – April 28, 2021.