PUTRAJAYA, Oct 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged civil servants to make saving electricity in government offices a culture while eliminating waste even if it is a small matter.

"We always see waste in the big picture, but we forget about how we use electricity in our offices. We have to improve this; these are public funds.

"I hope we can start making it a culture because if we can implement the saving measure, a lot can be done,” said Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, at the monthly assembly with staff of the Prime Minister’s Department here today.

Anwar said when he was the Finance Minister in the 1990s, he placed strong emphasis on energy savings in his office.

"During my time at the Ministry of Finance in Jalan Duta, I remember when we had our assembly outdoor, we would see which buildings still had their lights on.

"I would ask the head of the department to turn off the lights. (I said to them) you are out for an hour; why must the lights be on? It’s not your money, it’s public funds,” he said. — Bernama