Malaysian PM Mahathir will make his Cabinet ministers work on Labour Day

Malaysian PM Mahathir will make his Cabinet ministers work on Labour Day
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will be giving each of the Malaysian Cabinet ministers the task of preparing a paper on issues related to their respective ministries.
PHOTO: Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR - International Labour Day on Wednesday (May 1) will not be a day of rest for Malaysian Cabinet ministers, with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad giving each of them the task of preparing a paper on issues related to their respective ministries.

The ministries will take turns making presentations to Dr Mahathir from 2pm for an "indefinite" period of time in Putrajaya on Labour Day, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran told Bernama during an event with the Malaysian diaspora in Singapore on Monday night.

The Ipoh Barat MP said he had to postpone plans to celebrate the day with his wife, who was travelling to Kuala Lumpur.

"I'm also excited (to celebrate May Day). My wife also is coming to Kuala Lumpur. After that we (plan to) drive back to Ipoh. We will spend one or two days there and I will come back to Kuala Lumpur," said Mr Kulasegaran.

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"He (Dr Mahathir) decided last Wednesday like this: You all have the (May Day) rally and everything... finish... take two hours rest and (after that) all of you come to the PM's office."

Mr Kulasegaran was in Singapore at the head of the Malaysian delegation to the Special Session of the ASEAN Labour Ministers and Singapore Conference on Future of Work. He will be preparing a paper on job creation for his ministry.

"We (Cabinet members) wanted to say that we don't agree (about presenting the papers on May Day), but at his age, he is so anxious to get things done. We were just looking at each other and said God tell me... what is happening," Mr Kulasegaran said of Dr Mahathir.

He described Dr Mahathir as "one of the driving forces" of the government.

"I was telling my officers... in my opinion I think he works like three ministers (put) together. Sometimes, we wonder. I think he cheated (about) his age. I think he is only 60. Really industrious. I can't believe that there is this kind of a man. So overwhelmed."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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