THE country could have saved billions of ringgit if past administrations had been careful, transparent, and responsible, Anwar Ibrahim said.  

The prime minister said that the previous administrations had exploited weaknesses in the system to enrich small groups of people. 

“I don’t want to bring up past experiences that have its strengths and weaknesses.  

“Where there are good, positive contributions, we have to accept it regardless of their political affiliation, but all weaknesses must first be stopped.  

“The biggest weakness for me is the way of management, where the space was used to enrich small groups,” Anwar said today during the launch of the ‘Madani Malaysia’ tagline. 

Citing the Auditor-General’s report for 2021, Anwar said that the federal government could have saved up to RM6 billion if the mistakes identified by the auditor-general were corrected.  

“If the weaknesses mentioned repeatedly for decades by the auditor-general were corrected by the political leadership and civil servants, I believe five to six billion ringgit could have been saved,” Anwar said.  

“Meanwhile, from studying large projects, including the performance of our enforcement agencies, if all of it were carried out carefully, transparently and responsibly, I am confident that billions more can be saved,” he added.  

With good governance, Anwar was hopeful that they could face the economic crisis with more confidence.  

Yesterday, Anwar ordered cabinet members to look into the recommendations made by the auditor-general on matters related to their ministries.

He said the 2021 Auditor-General’s Report had detailed the mistakes that persistently occurred.  

Anwar today unveiled the new “Malaysia Madani” slogan to guide the country forward.     

Madani is Malay for a civilised society built on sustainability, care and compassion, respect, innovation, prosperity, and trust. The concept reflects the trust between the government and the people facilitated by transparency and cooperation. – January 19, 2023.