KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Ministers in the “unity government” headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should publicly disclose what they have achieved after completing one year of service, graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia (TI-Malaysia) said today.
TI-Malaysia said Malaysians deserve to know how these ministers are performing, as such transparency is necessary to send a clear message that the country is on the right track towards accountability and reforms.
“TI-Malaysia calls upon the prime minister to publicly disclose the report card of the detailed achievements of each minister in the past one year. That would be a true show of reform, accountability and transparency by the Madani government.
“Not only will this convince the rakyat of the stability and capabilities of the appointed cabinet, but will serve as a basis for the Prime Minister to assess the performance of the various ministries in determining allocations as well as cabinet reshuffling,” it said in a statement.
It added that this would positively impact Malaysia's Corruption Perception Index in the long run.
“Ministers need not worry even if their performance is short of the mark as the purpose of the report card is to clarify what has been done and to justify the challenges and complexities of implementation,” it added.
Earlier in its statement, TI-Malaysia noted that the current federal government under Anwar's leadership was formed amid economic challenges such as rising cost of living and a weak ringgit against the US dollar and the federal opposition's continuous threats of an impending government collapse.
It then commended the unity government for having survived with “minimal reports of in-fighting, friction, dirty laundry or public drama”, but said the question that has to be answered was whether all the ministers are performing to provide support to the prime minister and implementing projects to reform laws and improve Malaysians' lives.
Following the 15th general elections on November 19 last year, Anwar was on November 24 last year sworn in as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia. Today marks the first anniversary of his appointment as prime minister.
Ministers in Anwar's Cabinet were sworn in on December 3 last year. This means that their first year of service would be in slightly more than a weeks' time.
