KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given his assurance that investigations linked to corruption, embezzlement and power abuse will be investigated even if it is within his own party.
“My orders to all of them (the relevant bodies) are to just take action.
“I do not care whether they are from any party, even from PKR, as I cannot guarantee that my party is 100% clean. My instruction is clear, action must be taken.
“This is unlike the other side (Perikatan Nasional) who claim that they are all clean but that is not true,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, of Perikatan, who asked whether the appointment of those with court charges into the country’s administration would affect the Malaysia Madani agenda.
“If I appear to be stern on matters relating to corruption and misappropriation of funds, I will not apologise. It’s nothing personal, although I am aware that some people criticise me by saying that I am purposely looking for faults,” added the Prime Minister.
Anwar also defended his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, saying that he could not take any action against any member of his Cabinet who is facing court charges before a decision was made in court.
He also reiterated his commitment to not interfere in court cases involving any of his Cabinet members.
“Action cannot be taken just based on prosecution before a (court) judgment. This has even been mentioned by Marang (Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, the MP) in his previous firm statement.
“For instance, there is a lawmaker who is charged in court today, should the individual also resign from all of his positions? Surely the answer is no, so that is my stand as well,” he said.
“In this case, what I did was inform the Attorney General and the Chief Justice that Malaysia must stand up to the principles of the country.
“I do not want to punish before the courts; the court process should be transparent and independent,” he added.
Anwar also noted that as the Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid had abided by all the principles and the policies outlined by the government, including to reject a proposal for an immediate decision to approve a project without tender from a government-linked company under his ministry (Rural and Regional Development).
Ahmad Zahid is currently on trial over 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering linked to the charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
“Instead, he (Ahmad Zahid) had asked them to follow the orders of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on the proper tender process,” Anwar said.
Noting that Malaysia Madani was not just an empty slogan, he added that he wanted the public to understand that the country could not move forward without proper moral values.