YOURSAY | ‘Not many would want to be in Lim’s shoes right now, and for that, he has my support.’

Guan Eng is one of the better ministers, Zaid flays 'immature' PAS leader

Newday: Spending the last 18 months sorting out the country’s financial mess left behind by the previous administration, Lim Guan Eng deserves to be given more time before he can be fairly judged on his performance.

There are still people who question and condemn Lim’s performance as a finance minister, especially by those in PAS who are not known for their finance-handling capabilities, judging by the Kelantan state government’s current situation.

Anyone else who would have taken up the finance minister hot seat last year would have faced the same difficulties and obstacles as Lim to overcome Malaysia’s current economic predicament.

Everybody must back Lim and his ministry team to focus on long-term strategies to turn around the country's financial situation. Not many would want to be in Lim’s shoes right now, and for that, he has my support.

The Third Man: Does PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man thinks he is more capable and can perform a better job than Lim Guan Eng as the finance minister?

Lim has a track record in managing and developing Penang when he was the chief minister from 2008 to 2018. PAS and Tuan Ibrahim have got nothing much to show despite ruling Kelantan all these years (since 1990).

Anonymous 1533094668: Indeed, PAS and Tuan Ibrahim should focus first on how to generate income for Kelantan instead of condemning Lim on how he fared as the finance minister.

It is an open secret that the PAS-led Kelantan government depends on oil royalty from Putrajaya to survive.

I was shocked that PAS has taken loans from the federal government to cover the salaries of its state employees and administration cost.

PAS has been ruling the east coast state for almost three decades but Kelantan has yet to be self-sufficient financially.

If they can’t even handle the finances of a rural state, how can Malaysians expect PAS to run the federal government if elected? Therefore, PAS members are not fit to comment on the removal of Lim.

Vijay47: I carry no torch for Lim and I have been a vociferous critic of him. However, I will not stand by and watch when someone like Tuan Ibrahim from PAS takes potshots at the finance minister.

Tuan Ibrahim and his PAS colleagues do not have grounds of substance to attack Lim. To their mind and in their warped thinking, the greatest disqualifying factor against Lim is that he is a non-Muslim and worse, a DAP Chinese.

The PAS leader must have just returned from a holiday in the cool deserts of Saudi Arabia if he holds that Lim caused Harapan’s defeat in Tanjung Piai.

No, he did not, nor did MCA win the by-election.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad donated the seat to the opposition on a golden platter. It was the prime minister’s betrayal of the wishes of the people and his deep descent into race and religion that made the electorate reject him.

It is very telling that in attributing blame for the heavy defeat in Tanjung Piai on Lim rather than listing incompetent ministers, Tuan Ibrahim made no mention at all about Mahathir.

Bluemountains: Following Harapan’s heavy defeat in the Tanjung Piai by-election on Nov 16, Mahathir is considering making changes to his cabinet.

Does this mean that the defeat is attributed to some of his ministers? Does this also mean that the defeat is not attributed to the prime minister?

Hang Babeuf: Former minister Zaid Ibrahim defended DAP secretary-general Lim despite a PAS leader calling for him to be axed as finance minister.

Zaid is totally right. The opposition has no business dictating to the government or the prime minister on which minister should be retained or otherwise.

Cleo 25: I share the same opinion as Zaid that Lim certainly qualifies to be finance minister. He is one of the better ministers in Mahathir’s cabinet.

I can think of four other ministers who have definitely underperformed - Maszlee Malik (education), Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (youth and sports), Mohd Redzuan Yusof (entrepreneur development) and Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad (health).

Idiocracy: None of the ministers is performing well and that makes Lim one of the “better” performers.

While Lim is not in the same league as former finance minister Mustapa Mohamed, he is much better than former minister and ex-MCA president Liow Tiong Lai.

It’s funny these days when you watch the parliament sessions, BN is turning into a decent opposition by questioning the law-making processes and unilateral decisions made.

Little consultations are done among the current ministers, what more parliamentary and public consultations.

Wira: Even though I don't agree with some of Lim's ideas, I must agree with Zaid that the finance minister is certainly one of the better ministers in Mahathir's cabinet.

It took Lim several years to whip the Penang state government into shape after taking office in 2008, including the Penang civil service which had been entrenched in the old Umno/BN ways of doing things.

Shibboleth: When there are murmurs of discontent being heard from the civil servants in the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and the Treasury, it means Lim is doing a good job.

He is pushing them to work hard to clear backlogs and cutting waste and corruption.

It is the same in the private sector. If all the employees say that the boss is good, either he is a wimp or he is under-performing for the shareholders.

Giant Pygmy: I cannot understand Tuan Ibrahim’s motive for requesting Lim’s removal from the cabinet. He says Lim is the cause of Harapan’s loss in the Tanjung Piai by-election.

If his allegation is true, isn’t it better for the opposition to just allow Lim to remain as finance minister and cause Harapan to lose several more seats in upcoming elections?

Isn’t this scenario better for PAS?

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