The claim that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad acted unilaterally on sensitive issues is a blatant lie, says Education Minister Maszlee Malik.
Maszlee today said the Cabinet headed by Dr Mahathir has always made decisions by common consensus.
Referring to Klang MP Charles Santiago’s statement which among others suggested that the prime minister appears to wield too much power, Maszlee said the claim was “an utter lie”, adding that Cabinet decisions were never made unilaterally.
“I rebut Klang MP Charles Santiago’s claim that Mahathir often acted unilaterally on important and sensitive national issues.
“The statement linking Mahathir to unilateral decisions is baseless and a blatant lie,” he said in a statement today.
He said the Cabinet has always been taking “joint decisions”, adding that Mahathir has always “given importance to the views and interests of all parties”.
“I believe other Cabinet members can vouch for this. Issues such as the Rome Statute, Lynas, ICERD and others have been openly discussed.”