Veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang has called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to carry out as many institutional reforms as early as possible because he may not have five years.
In a statement today, Lim (above, left), who served nearly 50 years in Parliament, urged Anwar to ignore ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s criticisms and learn the most important lesson of the 22-month Pakatan Harapan government.
“He should carry out the promise he made after he was appointed the 10th prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that he would not compromise on good governance, the anti-corruption drive, judicial independence, and the welfare of ordinary Malaysians,” said Lim.
He said that Anwar should be aware that there are political forces that are conspiring to end his premiership as early as possible.
“Anwar has rightly submitted himself to a vote of confidence in the two-day meeting of Parliament last week.
“He should make the February 2023 meeting of Parliament the most important and historic session of the Dewan Rakyat in its 66 years by initiating a series of institutional reforms,” he added.
Lim said that Mahathir had missed the historic opportunity to make Malaysia great again and this is a mistake that Anwar should not repeat.
“Although the Mahathir Harapan government was toppled unconstitutionally and illegally by the Sheraton Move, Mahathir cannot fully absolve himself of responsibility for the political conspiracy,” he said pointedly.
Mahathir suffered a crushing defeat in the 15th general election and all his Pejuang party candidates lost their deposits.
However, he still expressed reservations about Anwar’s capabilities and criticised Harapan and BN for forming a government together, saying that it would undermine the people’s trust in the promises and stance of political parties.
Use corruption perception index as benchmark
Lim said that Anwar should use Transparency International (TI)’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as one benchmark.
“It is too late for the Anwar government to do anything to improve Malaysia’s TI 2022 CPI Report, but it should do its utmost to ensure that Malaysia’s TI 2023 CPI Report is the best for Malaysia.
“It could be even better than the TI 2019 CPI Report, in which Malaysia performed its best in 25 years since the annual CPI report was started in 1995,” he said.
Lim also called for a new public integrity plan to make Malaysia one of the top 30 countries in the world in the annual TI CPIs in the 2030s and 2040s.
“The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as all interested Malaysian NGOs, should be invited within a month to submit proposals for a Malaysian National Anti-Corruption Plan to place the nation among the top 30 countries in the world in public integrity.
“Such a plan should be launched during the February 2023 parliamentary session.
“That will give a great start for the February 2023 session and Anwar’s government,” said Lim. - Mkini
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