Lim was commenting on Dr Mahathir Mohamad replying to a question raised in the Dewan Rakyat on the government’s proposal to take a loan from Japan.

Parliamentarians were taken by surprise when Mahathir answered the question addressed to the finance minister.

“The prime minister is the most powerful. Of course, he has the right (to answer a question on my behalf),” he said in Mandarin when asked by a Chinese press reporter.

The Bagan MP said he saw nothing wrong with the prime minister answering on his behalf.

“This shows he has the accountability attitude on the matter that was brought up (to the government),” he said.

According to today’s Order Paper, which outlines the agenda for the sitting, the first question was posed to the finance minister by Opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid, who is Bagan Datuk MP, had asked the finance minister to state the rationale for Malaysia to obtaining a loan from Japan, with a higher currency value than the ringgit, although the interest rate on the loan is low.

Zahid has also asked whether the national debt would increase if a loan was taken from Japan.

Mahathir then responded, saying that it could not be ascertained if the Japanese government would provide such low-interest loans.

He said this was because the previous Barisan Nasional administration had taken high-interest loans from Japan, resulting in costs that were too high for the government to bear.

Mahathir had earlier indicated that the government was considering  securing a loan from Japan to reduce the high cost of funds as the 6% interest rate on the debt taken by the previous administration was too high.

He said the value of the Japanese yen was cheaper than the ringgit with one yen equalling 1 US cent, while RM1 was worth 25 US cents.

He added that repaying Malaysia’s debt in Japanese yen meant the country would not be burdened with a high interest rate of more than 6%.