PUTRAJAYA, Dec 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today praised all his Cabinet members, saying they performed exceptionally well in a spontaneous midterm review recently.

When responding to a question during a town-hall event here today, Anwar said his ministers’ performance could be assessed through an improvement in the general sense of well-being thanks to national policies that emphasise human values instead of just economic data.

“None of the ministers lagged behind. I analyse every single ministry in detail. So I agreed with the chief secretary’s suggestion to hold these events so we can communicate our achievements,” Anwar said at the Rancakkan Madani event held at Dataran Putrajaya.

“And you evaluate this yourself, and not just the data. Because data can be misleading, some countries record massive growth but poverty remains a problem; a country can be the richest in the world, yet homelessness there is everywhere,” he added.

“So evaluate (their policies) through the values of humanity, and the values of humanity means leaving nobody behind.”

The appraisal comes amid talks that Anwar will be filling vacancies in his Cabinet following several resignations and a term expiry for Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who held the investment, trade and industry portfolio until December 2.

Anwar said he would decide on the vacancies “soon”, after discussing with the heads of political parties in his unity government.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition he leads suffered a severe blow at the recently-concluded state election in Sabah with PKR winning just one seat from the dozen it vied for, while DAP was completely wiped out. 

Members of PH said the defeat was a clear warning of simmering discontent towards the federal administration.

Rancakkan Madani is a year-long programme meant to platform government policies. 

At the last of this year’s event, Anwar cited economic growth, ringgit’s appreciation, and the success of organising the 46th and 47th Asean Summit in the capital city as major landmarks of his administration.

He credited all ministers and civil servants for the achievements. 

The PH chairman also suggested his ruling coalition colleagues had helped preserve political stability, allowing the government to focus on implementing public programmes.

“It has been three years, a very short time, but I am blessed by Allah and must express my deepest appreciation for friends in the Cabinet, civil servants and the people who help the Madani government to lift Malaysia’s dignity.

“Thanks to political stability, we have managed to craft a national policy and execute it in the best possible way not just for growth, but also for the people’s wellbeing,” he said.