Malaysia will 'go to the dogs' if govt fails to bring change - Anwar

 

Malaysia will “go to the dogs” if there are no measures taken by the government to bring change, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera English’s ‘101 East’ programme, Anwar said parties in the coalition government subscribe to the same idea, pointing out that his new political allies also concurred that the country is in dire need of reform.

“Do they (parties in the coalition government) agree the central problem is the issue of good governance? Yes (they agree).

“Do they agree that corruption has been endemic in this country? Yes.

“I mean that's most important and then, of course, we adjust policies. I'm not a dictator. I'm a prime minister in a democratic country,” he said when asked if he was still able to implement promised reforms now that he depends on a diverse coalition of parties to stay in power.

In the documentary titled “From Prison to Prime Minister: Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim”, Anwar also divulged that he found it harder to trust others after former betrayals and failed alliances in the past.

“But people change. We make mistakes but we're given the opportunity. Why do you impose such harshness on others?”

Patience and tolerance

Now that he holds the country’s top job - a “crown” he long desired for - and leaving behind his status as opposition leader, Anwar asserted he must deliver.

“It requires a lot of patience and more tolerance to criticisms.

“As an opposition leader, you feel you have no inhibition. You feel you can just blurt it out,” he said.

Having fought corruption all his life, he said he can now assure that anti-corruption agencies are “more effective and more determined to act against the corrupt”.

Anwar’s recent reappointment of “tainted” Azam Baki as MACC chief commissioner drew brickbats, with anti-corruption advocates calling Anwar to explain his decision.

Azam was at the centre of controversy after whistleblower K Lalitha exposed the top graft buster’s involvement in a share ownership scandal that raised questions on whether it was commensurate with his income as a public servant and conflict of interest concerns.

Azam claimed the shares were not his but purchased by his brother in his name, prompting the Securities Commission to also get involved over the possible misuse of his trading account. - Mkini