We are now falling behind some African countries, Mahathir raises alarm over country's progress

SHAH ALAM - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he is prepared to accept that Malaysia has fallen behind Indonesia and Vietnam, and "we have always been behind Singapore."

But the prime minister for 22 years said he was shocked to discover that the country was also behind some African countries as they use new equipment to be efficient and to save the country's funds.

"We are not prepared to use the latest technology to achieve efficiency and to limit corruption. We reject "this technology" because it may expose the wrongdoings of our MPs," he said in a statement.

He further said he was told that MPs may protest the use of new technology as "it would seem that many of them are involved in the export and import business."

Due to that, Malaysia continues to lose lots of money as politicians reject better ways to manage the country.

"But African countries are saving billions because their management, they are already drawing ahead of us. We need not feel ashamed about being overtaken by African countries.

"Haven’t we been told that stealing government money is not something we should feel ashamed about. If our boss does it, it is okay," he added.

As Umno gains momentum within voters, Mahathir said: "We have shown our appreciation by supporting the party of the boss," referring to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is commonly referred to us "Boss Ku".

"They may shamelessly steal more money and give us some in appreciation. That’s okay.

"(But) don’t adopt the new technology because it may cause our law makers to lose money.

"Reject it. Let the country go bankrupt. Its only the country losing money. You don’t lose. It’s okay," he said, in sarcasm.

in October 2021, Malaysia launched a five-year action plan to boost the country’s competitiveness and export rankings, after slipping behind neighbouring exporting nations Vietnam and Thailand in recent years.