KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced on Thursday (May 17) that he will be concurrently Education Minister, in a sign that he intends to be a hands-on leader.

His deputy, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will helm the Women Affairs and Welfare portfolio.

The Cabinet will be sworn in on May 21, pending the Palace’s agreement, the prime minister said in a press conference.

“I took the post because there are so many people who are uneducated,” Dr Mahathir, 92, quipped when asked for his decision to name himself Education Minister.

He added that he is keen to revamp Malaysia’s education system to help it keep up with the times.

“The system that we have now is outdated,” he said, explaining that Putrajaya will consider using new technologies such as computers and teaching software to aid educators.

Analysts said Dr Mahathir’s decision to take on the education  portfolio is not surprising given that he has always taken an interest on education issues in the country.

He was also Education Minister from 1974 to 1978, rolling out a new school curricula for both primary and secondary schools designed to offer holistic education to create balanced, all-rounded individuals.

Dr Mahathir also introduced the policy of teaching mathematics and science in English in 2003 when he was Malaysia’s prime minister but it was scrapped by the government of Najib Razak six years later, claiming that it was unfair on children who were not proficient in the language.

“Before he stepped down as prime minister (in 2003), he mentioned that he was worried about Malaysia’s education system. So this time, he will be hands-on to improve what he felt he left out,” Dr Oh Ei Sun, the principal adviser to public policy think tank Pacific Research Centre told TODAY.

Mr Rashaad Ali, a research analyst at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ (RSIS) Malaysia Programme, added that while some might want to see a new face at the helm of the Education Ministry, Dr Mahathir's “reputation as a taskmaster might just be the tonic needed in an area badly in need of refreshing”.

“I do not think this is indicative or a lack of quality ministerial candidates from Pakatan Harapan as all parties have their fair share of intelligent and critical MPs, but rather appears to signal Dr Mahathir's own desire to bring education as his own pet project,” he added.

The announcement will once again put the spotlight on the workload for Dr Mahathir given his age.

His wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, had expressed concerns over his health, noting that he doesn’t have enough sleep.

"On one night, he went through 200 (government) documents until 4-5am. At 7am, he was already in the office," she said in a post on the Kelab Che Det Facebook page on Wednesday.

With Thursday’s announcement, Dr Mahathir has to date named five people to the Cabinet.

Last week, he appointed Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as finance minister, Parti  Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin as home affairs minister and Parti Amanah Negara Mohammad Sabu as defence minister.

The remaining eight Cabinet positions would be divided between the four parties in Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact.

“This doesn’t represent the strength of each party. Some will get more, some less later,” he said on Thursday.

“At this stage, we are not taking into account the strength of the parties, but we will do so when we appoint the other ministers so that we have a size of 25.”

Dr Mahathir said the delay in naming his Cabinet picks was due to overlapping demands, noting that “some wanted to hold certain portfolios.”

"We will announce it probably tomorrow (Friday) if I can do things in time. If not, we may have to delay (the announcement)," he said, adding that the ruling coalition’s presidential council will be expanded to included Mr Anwar Ibrahim, who walked free from jail on Wednesday after a royal pardon.

One appointment Dr Mahathir confirmed on Thursday was that of Mr Mohd Shukri Abdull as the new Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief.

He will replace Mr Dzulkifli Ahmad.

Mr Shukri retired two years ago as the MACC deputy chief commissioner.

“We have appointed Mohd Shukri because he has the experience as being part of MACC,” said Dr Mahathir.

“He has a lot of expertise and knowledge in handling the current criminal activities. He fought against any wrongdoings in the MACC and Najib’s role in blocking investigations.”

Turning to his meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday, Dr Mahathir said he will ask Singapore for help on investigations into financial irregularities in state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) if it was needed.

“He (Mr Lee) said he will be helpful, and if there is a need for me to ask him for help, I will shout for help,” said Dr Mahathir, adding that both sides have not determined any specific topics that will be brought up during the meeting.

“We haven't fix any subjects, we will have a discussion and if he raises any issues we will discuss them,” he said.

“But at the moment, I am still trying to figure out our stand with regards to certain issues which have not been finalised yet.” AGENCIES