PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has addressed a report by Emir Research that stated Malaysia has incurred losses of RM4.5 tril over the past 26 years due to corruption and leakages.
In response to media queries on this, he said he has instructed four agencies to investigate the monetary losses caused by graft in the country.
However, the Tambun MP did not give any specifics or mention any of those who would have benefited from corruption in the last 26 years.
He also lamented the fact that so far, those who allegedly became extremely rich through corruption have remained untouched by the law.
“But I cannot give specific instructions one by one, only general directions. Because there are people who are known to have committed billions of corruption for decades but are still safe.
“No one dares to touch them. What is the meaning of a country, the strength of the law? If we ask the police, LHDN to take action below, but still the culprits run free. And that group of assets is worth tens of billions of ringgit,” said Anwar.
Nevertheless, some netizens thought the Prime Minister’s statement was misplaced.
They are either unfazed by the decision to ask the agencies to investigate the losses or are unhappy that some in Anwar’s government are facing corruption trials.
User @MuliaMinhat is of the opinion that Anwar’s statement is related to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s lawsuit against him.
IMO ni mungkin bersangkut paut dgn kes saman dia yang ada berkemungkinan dia tiada bukti2 yg kukuh atau scenario lain, ‘kotak2’nya hilang. Mungkin terdesak dan terpaksa guna 4 agensi ni cari bukti2 utk dia. Untung2, dpt sauk yg lain. Bijak. Tapi tekaan je la 🤷🏽
— Mulia (@MuliaMinhat) May 13, 2023
“In my opinion, this may be related to the lawsuit he’s facing where there’s a possibility he doesn’t have strong evidence or other scenarios where the ‘boxes’ are missing.
“He may be desperate and forced to use these four agencies to find evidence for him. Hopefully, he will catch other fishes. It’s smart, but it’s just a guess. 🤷🏽 ”
User @GeneiRyodan001 said:
Lepas 26 tahun lah kot baru 4 agensi ni boleh agak2 siapa yang bertanggungjawab. Nampak macam noble intention but in truth is a waste of resources. Nampak macam dah mati idea dah topik rasuah ni
— Quwrof Wrlccywrlir 🕷 (@GeneiRyodan001) May 13, 2023
“After 26 years, these four agencies can only estimate who is responsible. It seems like a noble intention, but in reality, it is a waste of resources. It looks like they have run out of ideas on the topic of corruption.”
Meanwhile, user @malayfighter1 added:
Setiap tahun ada audit, setiap tahun ada lapuran audit, setiap tahun juga ada penemuan audit dan setiap tahun juga ada pembetulan audit…dariula naik asik cerita ketirisan, salah orang itu, salah org ini… Org depan mata kena dakwa buat tak nampak….
— Malay Fighter (@malayfighter1) May 13, 2023
“Every year there’s an audit report, every year there are findings from the audit, and every year there are corrections from the audit…yet we keep hearing stories of mismanagement, blaming this person, blaming that person…Those who are right in front of us should be charged, but they act like they don’t see it.”
Moreover, @PerancangHarta said:
Ini semua politik. Setiap tahun Jabatan dan kementerian membentangkan laporan tahunan di Parlimen. Apa MP telah buat?
— Abd Rahaman Rasid (@PerancangHarta) May 13, 2023
“This is all politics. Every year, departments and ministries present their annual reports in Parliament. What have the MPs done?”
Those in favour of the investigations said it was the right move by Anwar.
buat kerja salah tak buat kerja salah , bodoh punya netizen. yang kecam tu memang bangang ke? dah nama pun rasuah takkan nak diam bodoh?
— Uwais (@uwaissameon) May 14, 2023
“Whether you do your job or not, these netizens are foolish (unhappy). Are those who criticise stupid? It’s called corruption, how can one stay silent and be foolish?” — May 14, 2023
