Set aside differences, like Zahid and I, PM tells Cabinet, civil servants

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he and his deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (right), had their differences and arguments in the past but had united for the sake of the country.

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged members of his Cabinet and civil servants to unite and work together for the sake of the country, just like him and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

In a speech during the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD), Anwar said he had always urged his ministers to work closely with civil servants.

“Just like how my deputy, Zahid, and I put aside our differences in order to save the country.

“We had our differences and arguments in the past, but thankfully, we carry the same ideology in upholding the spirit of Malaysia Madani,” he said, referring to his government’s new slogan.

Anwar also said he wanted PMD’s civil servants to implement changes in order to help steer the country in a “better direction”, adding that he wants the Cabinet and civil servants to work as a team by inculcating trust in the work culture.

Noting the “seriousness” in the teamwork shown by the Cabinet and civil servants over the past few months, he said this was evident in areas such as the management of foreign workers, the country’s response to the recent floods, and the immediate deployment of 70 personnel from three agencies to aid in the search and rescue (SAR) mission in Turkey following an earthquake in the country.

The relationship between Anwar and Zahid goes back to the 1970s when the two were student activists in Universiti Malaya.

This relationship continued in Umno, with Zahid serving as the party’s youth chief when Anwar was deputy prime minister under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Zahid stood by Anwar when the latter was sacked as deputy prime minister and stripped of all his posts within Umno on Sept 2, 1998.

The Bagan Datuk MP rebuilt his career in Umno when Anwar was in jail, being appointed a deputy minister under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and eventually deputy prime minister after Najib Razak sacked Muhyiddin Yassin in 2015.

As Umno and PKR had different political ideologies, they were also rivals until the unity government was formed after the 15th general election.

However, the Barisan Nasional chairman was a main figure in getting BN’s 30 MPs to back Anwar as prime minister amid the political stalemate following the Nov 19 polls. - FMT