KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not solely focus on combatting corruption but also focus on improving the standard of living for the people.
In an interview with Malaysiakini, he acknowledged the importance of tackling corruption but said that it should not be at the expense of other efforts.
“What I see after six months (since Anwar became the prime minister) it is more about this and that person being corrupt. Everyone seems to be corrupt except him.
“If we arrest 80 ex-ministers and charge them daily, will it reduce food prices?” he was quoted as saying.
He said improving the standard of living is part of the prime minister’s responsibilities.
The 52-year-old said that he found the continuous emphasis on anti-corruption to be wearisome.
“Every day must talk about corruption until we feel lightheaded. Everyone can’t be corrupt, everyone can’t be giving bribes all the time,” he reportedly said.
Ahmad Faizal also called upon all politicians, including himself and his colleagues from his coalition party Perikatan Nasional, to stop engaging in political manoeuvring and focus on serving the people instead.
In March, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed trial for charges of corruption and money laundering over the Jana Wibawa projects initiated when he was still the prime minister as well as the tax-exempt status of the Yayasan Albukhary charity.
Before that, former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Segambut Bersatu division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad were also charged over Jana Wibawa.
Jana Wibawa, or “Programme Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa”, was launched during Muhyiddin’s administration with the professed aim of improving the capacity and resilience of Bumiputera contractors in construction.
