ON Monday, following Anwar Ibrahim’s first meeting with his new cabinet members, the prime minister revealed his government’s intention to look into alleged abuses of power and mismanagement in several areas. 

He listed five major areas that needed immediate scrutiny – from government projects to government funding, and monopoly in the hands of big players. 

Of the two previous administrations, the one led by Muhyiddin Yassin seems to be the main target. Likewise, the spotlight has also been put on Muhyiddin’s coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is the biggest opposition bloc now.  

Here are the five big-ticket items Anwar’s government is looking into:

1. The RM600 billion abuse

This is targeted at the PN government headed by Muhyiddin, and on how the government had allegedly misappropriated or misspent the amount during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anwar said based on information obtained, there were certain processes and procedures, that were not followed, involving fund expenditures.

He also alleged that there were companies with family links, but did not elaborate. He said he would leave it to the investigative body to look into the issue.  

These claims first started during the election campaign with Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional noting that PN had spent a lot of money for the people, and in the process managed to win many seats. 

After Anwar’s disclosure, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he would hold talks with Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani on the RM600 billion expenditures by the PN administration. 

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has also opened an investigation paper into this matter. 

Both PN and Muhyiddin have been quick to defend themselves and denied any wrongdoing. 

Muhyiddin said he was not afraid to be investigated over the matter, and instead ridiculed Anwar for having no understanding on how government funds are allocated and used.  

He said RM530 billion was actually used by his government in the economic packages to help the people and business during Covid-19, of which only about RM70 billion was direct government cash injection.

2. Illicit gambling funds for GE15

Anwar slammed Bersatu and PAS – one a Malay party, the other an Islamist – for allegedly using money from gaming companies to fund PN’s election campaign.

He said he had asked his officers to check on the funding channelled to these two parties for this purpose, and slammed their moral standing in this issue. 

“On the issue of gambling, certainly this is partly used to finance elections. (I have asked for) checks on that. 

“Whether you call yourself a Malay party or Islamic party, notwithstanding, the (election) funds came from gaming companies,” Anwar was quoted as saying. 

He also said that the government has decided to reduce the special four-digit draws for number forecast operators (NFOs) to eight times a year. This is effective January next year. 

For this year, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration has allowed NFOs to hold 22 special draws. 

PAS was hurt by this allegation and urged Anwar to provide evidence of receiving political funding from gaming companies. Its secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan even threatened legal action. 

Anwar however hit back by saying: “My advice to Takiyuddin – don’t worry because I am now at the Finance Ministry (MOF), I have the file.”

Muhyiddin also denied this claim in his campaign rounds for the Tioman and Padang Serai elections.

3. 5G contract review

The issue here is the supposed lack of transparency on how the RM11 billion 5G network contract was awarded by Muhyiddin’s administration.

The award was given out by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), an agency under the MOF, to Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson.

Anwar said the 5G roll-out would be evaluated to ensure they strictly followed procedures, alleging that there had been “no proper tender process”, without specifying details. 

“It needs to be reviewed because it was not done in a transparent manner,” Anwar said. 

DNB responded by saying it would cooperate with the government’s review, but added that the award of the contract to Ericsson had been conducted transparently. 

Following criticism raised earlier this year, Ericsson said in March that it adhered to all standard procedure to secure the deal by merit through an open tender. 

It added that it was committed to ensuring that the DNB network becomes a showcase of the best that 5G can deliver in the region.

4. RM7 billion flood mitigation efforts

Anwar has also ordered a review of RM7 billion worth of approvals under the RM15 billion flood mitigation project. He said the projects were awarded through direct negotiation instead of a tender process. 

The review is to ensure transparency and that regulations are followed, he said. 

“This is not a small amount… (Although there are) reasons such as expediting the flood mitigation move, there is a problem when regulations are not observed and there are efforts to exploit the situation. 

“This is most regrettable and I am thankful that senior ministry officials are united and do not concur with this, but were (only) following instructions,” Anwar had said. 

Anwar did not name the companies involved but in the run-up to the recent general election, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli – now economic affairs minister – revealed that projects were given out through direct negotiations after parliament was dissolved in October. 

He directed his attacks at the Environment and Water Ministry under the past Umno-led administration, saying that the flood mitigation project in Sungai Langat 2 was valued at RM2 billion. He added that the company given the project has two bankruptcy petitions filed against it.

The environment and water minister involved, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, has since sued Rafizi for defamation.

On November 12, then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz reportedly said that the procurement of the project met all the regulations required. He is now international trade and industry minister in Anwar’s cabinet.

The previous government had allocated an additional RM15 billion for flood mitigation in 2023 to 2030, from just RM1 billion announced under the 12th Malaysia Plan.  

5. Syed Mokhtar’s rice monopoly

The spotlight on this shows the new government’s intent to help rice farmers in the country, who are largely Malays.

The rice monopoly enjoyed by Bernas has long been criticised by PH leaders. 

Bernas is controlled by billionaire tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, who is known to be close to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as well as with Muhyiddin. 

Anwar said he had reprimanded Syed Mokhtar for monopolising rice imports, to which the tycoon had agreed to allocate funds for poor local farmers.  

“I urged him to do something immediately. He will allocate RM10 million to the farmers this month, and RM50 million by Bernas next year,” Anwar said.

Anwar also named Shahidan Kassim – formerly from Umno but now with PN – for being part of the problem.

“To be fair, the approved permit for import is not a concession and was not awarded to him but to Bernas (Padiberas Nasional Bhd), which was then owned by Tan Boon Seng and Shahidan Kassim,” Anwar had said, suggesting that Syed Mokhtar just inherited the monopoly after buying the stakes from Tan and Shahidan. 

Bernas is reported to control 30.6% of the local rice market and also imports rice from Thailand and Myanmar to meet local demand. The company is 92% controlled by Syed Mokhtar through four private companies. 

Anwar added that his government would not allow political figures to easily gain wealth and “suck the blood” of poor rice farmers.

On the same day, Shahidan was reported as saying that plans were already afoot for the PN to topple Anwar’s unity government.

The next step

While PH was in the opposition, there were many other issues that they had raised, citing abuse of power, corruption and lack of transparency.

One big issue was the littoral combat ship project scandal, allegedly involving Umno politicians. 

Defence Minister Mohamad Hasan, who is also Umno deputy president, has said he would look into the LCS scandal.

“Let me settle into the (Defence Ministry) office before looking into the matter,” he said during a press conference at the Defence Ministry on his first day in office. 

Another issue was the alleged abuses in the MySejahtera app procurement, and other related super apps. PH had also raised concerns over the Covid-19 vaccine procurement process. 

Anwar was appointed as the prime minister. His cabinet was only announced last Saturday, and had their first meeting this Monday. 

More revelations of supposed wrongdoings, power abuses and corrupt practices of the previous administrations are expected in the coming days and weeks.

The question is if the new government is serious about tackling them or is just using them for political purposes. – December 7, 2022.