KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has rejected calls for the dismissal of his political secretary in connection with the controversy surrounding a support letter issued to a contractor bidding for a hospital project last year.
Anwar clarified that the letter in question was “ambiguous” and did not carry the weight of an official directive. He also emphasised that the project approval process was not influenced by the letter, as the relevant authorities were fully aware of the standard procedures.
In response to a call from former Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli for action to be taken, Anwar said
“Look at the letter first. Rafizi is taking a rather firm stance… I understand.”
“If we want consistency, many political secretaries, both past and present, have issued similar letters,” he added, as reported by Bernama.
Anwar made these remarks to the Malaysian media while on board a Malaysia Airlines flight from Ethiopia to South Africa. He arrived in Johannesburg last night to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit as ASEAN Chair for 2025.
Recently, Rafizi had called for action, including a potential investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), over the letter of support issued by one of the Prime Minister’s political secretaries.
Although Anwar disagreed with the issuance of the letter and had reprimanded the concerned officer, he stressed that any action taken should be fair and balanced.
“We must give a reprimand when necessary. That’s the process. We shouldn’t act harshly just because we disagree with someone, while being lenient with those who are aligned with us. We must be consistent,” Anwar said.
Last Tuesday, Anwar stated that he had reprimanded his political secretary for issuing a support letter for a contractor bidding for a hospital project in 2024.
He further explained that he himself could only write “please review again” on letters addressed to him, as all contracts must go through a review process and automatic support is not permitted. – November 21, 2025