Corruption among the elites, not Malays, vows to stop corruption - Anwar Ibrahim

SHAH ALAM – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim voiced his frustration as to how the Malays are often being associated with corruption when the elites are the ones who are often involved with the activity despite any race.

“I'm tired of the views that they are all putting the blame on the Malays when it comes to corruption, that's not true because other races are also involved with corruption.

“This is not about races, but lack of realisation as if the Malays are easily blinded by money. I just don't think that it is a correct statement,” he told the Sinar Daily on Thursday.

He further added that the ones who consumed the 'cake' of corruption were the elites and nobody could say otherwise.

“The ones who consume the cake (corruption) are the elite. Who can deny that? Nobody. They are all living lavishly but the impact is on the people.

“Our main concern for the country as of now is the governance, do not let the political elite take over the 'cake' as a whole,” he said.

Commenting further, he said corruption was not a Malay issue as it depends on the political polemic.

Anwar vowed that he would stop corrupt practises and mismanagement in governmental institutions if he was given the mandate in the 15^th General Election (GE15) and was appointed as Prime Minister (PM).

He admitted that it would be an uphill battle to reveal corrupt practises which had been in the country, considering those involved in the practises would work together in fighting the cause.

“It’s not easy to work like that. How else do we want to fight? We had challenged the PM, demanded for all important institutions to investigate corrupt practises.

“All important institutions to combat corruption like Inland Revenue Board, police, Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission and Home Ministry should conduct a transparent investigation,” he said.

To this, he urged all parties in Pakatan Harapan to work harder and keep an open mind in analysing previous manifestos, whether it would help or burden the people.

He also commented on the current economic plunge, which he claimed was caused by the loss of confidence among the people towards the government, hence it was important to revive the people’s confidence.

This could be done with a transparent government that was able to manage the country free from corruption and abuse of power.

“Right now, with the unstable politic and lack of confidence from the people, the adventurous plan will only lead to more risk and bad impacts on the financial situation and the country's economy.

“The best solution would be (with a) trusted administration that brings the agenda of changes,” he said.

During the grand debate with Datuk Seri Najib Razak on May 12, Anwar slammed Najib Razak after he made an analogy of cake to expand the economy, stating if there are more slices of cake, the more ‘we can give it to the people’.

The statement was then condemned by Anwar Ibrahim during the debate saying that the cake should not have been eaten alone, but be shared with the people.