THE current political stability in the country will enable the unity government to fully focus on developing and expanding the country’s economy to a better level next year. 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government would focus its efforts on improving domestic investments and attracting more foreign investments to further boost the country’s economy. 

“The focus (of the government) is on the strength of the economy, be it domestic or foreign investments, and this is related, for example, in terms of governance, ease of doing business, speed, approval and reducing bureaucracy. 

“… this economic programme is linked with issues which I call Madani country. So, our priority (next year) is to manage this country, correct, fix and improve (the economy),” he said during the Prime Minister’s dialogue session with chief editors and senior editors of the country’s electronic, print, and online media today. 

Apart from that, cooperation from unity government MPs indirectly helped his administration to be more organised and effective, he said. 

Anwar said although the experience gained from helming the government for the past year could be described as challenging, he is, nonetheless, proud because the various parties in the unity government were seen to have given their full cooperation. 

“The measure we took, be it governance, fighting corruption, setting transparent rules in procurement and Madani programmes, economy and other programmes, didn’t seem to face any problems,” he said. 

He added that the government would also ensure the mastery of Bahasa Melayu and English continued to be enhanced under the country’s educational system. 

“Energy transition and digital transformation require a strong paradigm shift, including what I have mentioned about mastery in Bahasa Melayu and priority to be given to English in the education system from next year,” he said. 

Anwar also expressed concern over the continuance of outdated thinking based on limited knowledge and politicising Islam, which led to narrow-mindedness and being quick to judge others. 

“I would like to stress again that we must draw the line. Must be free to discuss, (and) explain questions on religion freely, but if we go to the extent of judging, simply labelling people ‘kafir’, that must be checked by laws and regulations,” he said. – Bernama, December 23, 2023.