KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated his resolve to take action against corrupt individuals, regardless of their position or the political fallout, declaring that he will not be deterred by a lack of popular support.
“When we have taken action against those corrupt leaders, past or present leaders, businessmen, corporate leaders, who have squandered billions of ringgit, I have not seen that sort of anger and support that we should have.
“But it doesn’t matter. I do my job regardless of whether I have the general support or not. That is my duty and I will perform to the utmost of my ability to ensure that we get rid of corruption, which has been endemic in this country,” he said, according to Bernama.
Anwar was delivering his speech at the highlight celebration of National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2025, held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) today.
Among those present were Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, and Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
Also in attendance were Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Bernama CEO Datin Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who also serves as project director of Hawana 2025, along with senior representatives from various local media organisations.
The prestigious event gathered around 1,000 media practitioners from Malaysia and abroad.
Elaborating further, Anwar said his priority is not to imprison individuals, but to recover stolen public funds and return them to the people.
He criticised the country’s complacency in allowing massive embezzlement by political and corporate elites to go unchallenged and largely forgotten.
“Where is the lesson in that? What is the meaning of power? I have no interest in jailing people. I’m interested in recovering the money so it can be returned to the people. That is my focus. And I want to put an end to this culture (of abuse of power and corruption).
“I’m well aware of it. They are looking for petty issues to distract from the core problems and divert people’s attention. But believe me, this country will only be safe if we resolve the root issues, namely the management of public finances. Only then can we talk about additional allocations,” he said.
First introduced in 2018, Hawana honours journalists’ contributions to national development. The date, May 29, was selected in recognition of the inaugural publication of Utusan Melayu in 1939. — June 14, 2025