KUALA LUMPUR: There is no need to seek further advice from the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) as leaders from the current government are fast learners, a deputy minister claimed.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (pix) said while most of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) leaders were new to the federal government, they were still capable of administrating the country.
“There are no plans currently to appoint members of the CEP to be our mentors in the ministries because we are all quick learners,” he told the Dewan Rakyat, here, today.
He also sarcastically congratulated members of the opposition for also being seemingly quick to learn being on the opposite bench.
Mohamed Hanipa was responding to a question from Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) if the government intends to seek further advice from CEP considering many of the ministers are inexperienced.
Responding further, the deputy minister said while he acknowledged that PH was the more junior as compared to Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition remained a clean government committed to forming a “New Malaysia”.
“The ministers and deputies who were appointed are all capable of fulfilling our promises for a better Malaysia. And this is because we are clean from any forms of corruption,” he said.
On a supplementary question whether the CEP report would be made public, Mohamed Hanipa said it would remain under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) as it contained confidential information.
“Some had asked why the report has to be protected under OSA. I want to stress that OSA is needed in any country.
“Previously, we were angry at BN not because of OSA, but because they abused it to protect corruption and abuse of power. But now, we are really using the act to protect the information, which are considered confidential,” he said.
The CEP was formed immediately after PH formed the government following its victory in the May 9 general election, as an advisory body to the government, and was dismantled after 100 days.
Its members were Professor former minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Petronas chief executive Tan Sri Hassan Merican, business tycoon Robert Kuok, and prominent economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
