‘Corrupt practices in M’sia similar with other western countries, Sri Lanka’ - Anwar Ibrahim

SHAH ALAM - PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the corrupt political practices in the country are almost the same as some of the western companies and Sri Lanka, in which the leaders are involved in such activities which will impact the country.

Relating the issue to the situation in the country, he said the outdated political systems that legalise corruption and policies in favor of the ruler and the political elite continue to be practiced.

“The political leaders keep on changing and huge sums of the profits go to their own bloodline and cronies, only a little fraction of it is shared with the people, “ he said during his speech on the second day of PKR’s National Congress at Ideal Convention Centre Shah Alam (IDCC), today.

He said this in regard to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka as a result of corruption and looting of treasures of the country by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s family.

He also added that corruption in the country happened due to the failure of the system in the country and the cynical attitude towards the leader and political careers which stemmed from the hypocrisy of leadership that refused to keep promises.

“There are campaigns that say there is no need for 1MDB to be talked about anymore, but the people would be living easier now if this mega robbery did not happen.

“Global Financial Integrity 2012, Panama Papers 2015 and now Pandora Papers 2021 involved too many political elites.

“Our job is to provide the enlightenment that political elites have robbed billions of dollars of state and people’s funds for personal and family gain.

“The money can be used to tackle the problems of poverty, education, housing and health of the people. When we mentioned this, these politicians became uneasy,” he added.

However, he said, in pursuing further efforts, new approaches and changes need to be put forward and the grassroots should give insight on the systems and policies which seemed to be defending the status quo and the ruling elite.

“The people must always be given enlightenment about what is right and what is wrong.

“The education system of the country is still not able to cultivate the tradition of critical and creative thinking in balancing out knowledge and skills,” he said.