The former prime minister also wants Malaysia to focus on industries that do not require foreign labour to reduce their number which may alter the ethnic landscape.
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“There is no need for foreign consultants. Why is the government paying so much for these foreign consultants when we have equally up to par local consultants who can do the job?
“It isn’t that I want to talk about the past, but Malaysia was once recognised as one of the Asian Tigers, and this was possible without the presence of these foreign consultants.
“The hiring of these consultants has cost the country billions.
“We don’t need them, we have experts and officials who are capable,” he said.
Mahathir, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, was addressing a question posed by a viewer of his Policy Talks live show that was aired from his office in Putrajaya today.
Mahathir was referring to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “habit” of hiring foreign consultants to advise him on how to manage and improve the country’s economy.
Answering another question, he said the government needed to focus more on industries that did not require foreign labour.
“When you hire foreign workers, the money that they make is sent back to their country.
“That is money going out. What we need to improve the economy is for money to flow in, not flow out.
“The existence of more industries that are focused entirely on foreign hiring will not help the economy improve.
“We (Pakatan Harapan) will discuss with industry players to see how best we can handle this situation to ensure that everyone’s needs are met,” he said.
Mahathir, who is also PPBM chairman, had pledged to reduce the presence of the estimated seven million foreign workers in the country and to train Malaysians to take over their jobs.
In his address at the party’s recent annual general meeting, he said the number of foreigners should not rise to the extent of radically changing the landscape of the various ethnic groups in Malaysia.
PPBM will reduce need for foreign workers
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Sumber Mahathir to Najib: Save costs, stop hiring foreign consultants