‘Keep an eye on current govt members too’

KUALA LUMPUR: The anti-graft body should not solely focus on the wrongdoings of the previous administration but also monitor members in the current government, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Port Dickson MP said he welcomed the initiatives of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to combat all forms of corruption.

But he said the plan must be implemented effectively to include current political leaders and members of the administration.

“In the parliament caucus for governance and reforms, we made it very clear what is needed, and not just to unveil what is seen as past mistakes.

“That must go on – 1MDB issues, Felda issues and all that, but what was said in the opening speech of the Prime Minister and stressed in the caucus is for the MACC to monitor also the current administration, regardless if they are ministers, deputy ministers, government officers, the private sector and MPs.”

Anwar urged the government to set aside more allocations to address the high cost of living faced by the B40 group in the rural and urban areas.

Anwar, who chairs the parliamentary caucus on reforms and governance, said the latest statistics from the Implementation Coordination Unit showed that there were 134,553 people categorised as poor while another 55,981 were listed under the extreme poor category as of Feb 28.

“To address urban and rural poverty, an allocation of RM376,957,400 had been set aside for this year to carry out projects and programmes under several ministries.

“But we need to ensure all these assistance will reach the targeted groups,” said Anwar.