Mahathir asks for more time over CEP report's classified status

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today asked for more time before revealing the contents of the Council of Eminent Persons' (CEP) report, as it touches on matters that are presently still being negotiated.

"I don’t know what we have not revealed, when we reveal everything, but there are some things that are still in negotiations.

"We cannot reveal what we are negotiating until a decision is made," he was quoted as saying by Bernama today.

Mahathir was responding to criticism of the CEP report, which touches on the economy and business deals the government is engaged in, being placed under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Several Harapan lawmakers have called for the report to be made public.

Authors of the report, who had previously defended its confidentiality, are now also open to making it public.

On a separate matter, Mahathir lamented the people's indifference towards what former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had done to the country.

"He brought on a lot of debt, a lot of money went missing and a lot of other things happened, including his taking of contracts, that cost Malaysia to suffer losses.

"But when we terminate those contracts, we have to pay compensation to the contractors, which increases the government's costs and threatens its finances," he said.

As such, he said Putrajaya is unable to give handouts as the previous administration did.