Rafidah, a member of the National Economic Action Council, said the people should not be preoccupied with the timing of Mahathir handing over power to his successor.

“Our lives are in God’s hands. So, don’t talk about two or three years. Just carry on because policies will have to go beyond one year or two years.

“Dr Mahathir has said he doesn’t want to be there forever. We do not ask you (to be PM) until you are 100 years old.

“We just said don’t talk about it and carry on with the administration,” she said in her keynote address at the Perdana Discourse Series 21 titled “Factors impeding Malaysia’s economic progress and how to overcome them” at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana here today.

“I am not interested in talking about any extraneous matters.

“I am more concerned about the well-being of the country. If you start talking about all these things, you are distracting from the core issues of our business, which is to get this country going.

“We have come out from serious problems of credibility, image, indebtedness and the system being eroded,” she said.

She believes most Malaysians want the government to get going with whatever it takes to bring socio- economic progress and development.

“Things are moving but you get distracted by frivolities in some ministries. It is important we don’t get distracted.”

In her speech, Rafidah also questioned the need to develop the country’s first flying car, as proposed by the government.

“It’s okay to make the flying car as a hobby; go ahead. But don’t make it a national project.

“We don’t even have bicycles to give out to students in Sabah and Sarawak. They have to walk for miles every day.

“It is also not so simple to make a car and fly. If it was really feasible, you think Malaysia would be the first to do it?

“The Germans will be doing it. The Japanese and Chinese could be doing it. It is not as simple as that. Even to fly a drone in Malaysia, you need a licence,” she said.