KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reiterated his commitment to eradicate corruption and uphold the law, as he addressed investors at a major capital conference here where he told them the days when businesses and graft collude are over.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, has vowed to sustain economic growth to steer the country out of its middle-income rut but said he would do things differently, starting with broad reforms that would weed out rent-seeking and cut red tapes in a bid to draw more foreign investments into the country.
“I’m telling you now the way we do business must change,” he said in a keynote address delivered at the 21st edition of Invest Malaysia, a yearly capital market conference organised by Bursa Malaysia.
"The scourge of corruption, ill-gotten gains and bribery have no place in this nation. The people deserve far better, and so do the businesses and the investors who are drawn to our unique advantages," the prime minister added.
Corruption and rampant cronyism have long been blamed for investor scepticism of Malaysia, which has made the third-biggest South East Asian economy less appealing in recent years.
This comes as the Anwar administration allocated over RM380 billion for this year's federal budget with up to RM90 billion earmarked for development, the largest to date as he aims to sustain decent growth and protect vulnerable income groups from the anticipated global economic downturn.
But Anwar said his budget will focus on genuinely "sustainable" and "inclusive" development. He calls it the Madani Budget to stress the humanitarian aspect of economic management and governance that he claimed was missing in previous spending plans.
One of its key thrusts would be to restore both public and investor confidence in the leadership. The Anwar government said it is still committed to cutting the deficit to show that it would get its finances in order, starting with plugging leakages, eradicating corruption and tightening government procurements.
"I have said this many times, and I will repeat it here again. This government adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards misconduct and corruption," Anwar said at the conference.
"We will uphold the highest ethical standards and there will be no room for abuse of power under this administration. Any breaches will be severely dealt with, without fear or favour."
Government debt now sits just below 61 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), with the statutory limit being at 65 per cent of GDP having been raised twice during the pandemic.
With contingent liabilities, total government debt stood at RM1.5 trillion or 81 per cent of GDP.
Anwar said his government aims to bring the deficit down to 5 from 5.6 per cent currently.
