SUBANG JAYA: The fight against corruption and the pursuit of good governance will continue to top the Madani government’s priorities in 2025, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister, however, said that these campaigns will require time to bear fruit given how entrenched corruption has historically been in Malaysia.

“Governance is key because we have been in decline for too long. This issue isn’t limited to the government.

“This must be corrected, regardless of who you are, minister, politicians, heads of departments, you must say no to corruption.

“Action must be taken,” he said during a special interview with editors-in-chief yesterday.

Despite some resistance from certain quarters, Anwar said he will remain committed to these efforts.

While he was satisfied with the performance of his Cabinet members, Anwar said there was still much room for improvement.

During the two-year period under the Madani administration, he said, some ministers have demonstrated excellent performance while others have shown moderate performance.

“But I am satisfied with one thing: even though issues like corruption have been raised, the most important thing over the past two years is that I have not allowed the old practices of direct negotiations, commission theft, and so on.

“I’ve put a stop to that,” he said, adding that the government will always prioritise good governance.

“People may not want to hear about governance issues, but for me, this is the biggest problem. For me, governance is the most critical because leaks, corruption and the loss of tens of billions of ringgit have forced us to pay off debts we should not be paying,” he said.

On another matter, Anwar called for an immediate end to any narratives involving racial profiling in the context of aid distribution and efforts to combat hardcore poverty.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government’s policy was to provide aid regardless of race in all of its efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty.

“I strongly disagree with racial profiling. If you look at my policy history, even during my time with the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement, I opposed the New Economic Policy, especially its focus on racial profiling,” he said.

Anwar said this in response to claims by certain parties that the additional RM130mil allocation channelled to the Indian community was insufficient.

Anwar said the RM130mil allocation was only part of the assistance for the Indian community, which also covered several initiatives under the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/12/22/graft-free-governance-to-continue