Dr M: We are stable and peaceful, yet people think the gov't is not doing well

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was today asked about the government's deteriorating approval rating, to which he lamented that Malaysia was doing relatively well compared to a world in turmoil, but the people were still dissatisfied.

"If you look at the whole world, in Latin America, Venezuela is not stable, you look at North America, you have people like President (Donald) Trump who sends drones to kill people, you look at the UK, they are having problems with Brexit, you look at Europe, they are not united.

"You look at the Middle East, they are in trouble, in Africa, people are being killed. Look at South Asia, you see quarrels and Muslims being discriminated against. If you look at East Asia, you have North Korea, you have a quarrel between Japan and South Korea.

"But through it all, we are quite stable, I think. We are not fighting or killing each other, we are not having demonstrations in the streets with millions of people, as you see in Tehran.

"Yet, people think we are not doing well. I don't know what they mean by doing well. If you have a country that is stable, peaceful and law-abiding, that is a great achievement," Mahathir told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

'Country moving in the wrong direction'

The prime minister said this when asked to respond to Merdeka Center's poll, which showed 61 percent of the respondents believing that the country was moving in the wrong direction.

Only 26 percent of respondents believed the country was moving in the right direction in the survey conducted between Nov 22 and 28 last year.

Mahathir said the government was also making progress in the economic and social fields and was now working on reducing the disparity in the country, as well as other problems.

However, he said, the current government has not been good at conveying its achievements.

"This government is not very good at telling stories about what it has done.

"Today, a lot of people are investing in the country, but we are not announcing the investments as they come," he said.

Mahathir said the country was "very lucky" that it saw a smooth transition of power in 2018.

"This government has been formed, even though it is a coalition of four parties plus another party, plus even an individual. We still have a functioning cabinet that can make decisions," he said.