KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today called for greater accountability among those wielding political and economic power, saying democratic accountability must extend beyond elections to address failures in governance at both national and international levels.
“The failure of modern societies, including democracies, to hold those in power fully accountable.
“Not only during elections, but accountability in the real sense,” he said in his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2026, themed 'Watching the Watchmen in an Imbalanced World'.
Anwar said the question of who holds those in power accountable had become increasingly important as the world grappled with unilateral tariffs, ongoing wars, technological advances and gross injustices.
He said the central issue was how governance, particularly global governance, could be strengthened to ensure those making decisions were answerable for their consequences.
Referring to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Anwar recalled how businesses built over generations collapsed and Malaysia’s economy contracted by more than 7 per cent in 1998, while ordinary people, including the poor and marginalised, bore the consequences.
He said those in positions of authority often made decisions without adequately considering the plight of people who had little access to policymakers.
Anwar also pointed to the geopolitical, technological and economic challenges confronting the world, including the conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz, the growing influence of artificial intelligence, and the use of tariffs and export controls as instruments of economic pressure.
On international trade, he said Malaysia, as a trading nation, could not afford to be naive about the changing global environment, while calling for reforms to multilateral institutions including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
He said Malaysia had sought to maintain economic and diplomatic ties with both Western and Eastern powers, including the United States, Europe, China, South Korea, Japan and India, despite the challenges of navigating competing interests.
“Don’t envy me for having to, for example, meet and discuss with President Xi Jinping last year here, and having to dance with President Donald Trump just to keep the temperature down.
“And it’s a limited success, by the way. But even then, I’m not naive to consider this an easy one,” he said.
Anwar also said Asean must translate its centrality into the ability to shape regional developments, rather than merely hosting meetings, adding that differences between countries should be resolved through negotiations, trade and investment.
He said Malaysia maintained good relations with its neighbours despite maritime and territorial differences, including those involving Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and the South China Sea.
Anwar said the region’s emphasis on maintaining peace was important for economic growth and development, warning that prolonged conflicts and disputes could lead to catastrophe.
He also stressed that democracy was not merely a principle to be proclaimed, but something that had to be practised.
In a lighter moment, Anwar said he would present the paper discussed at the forum to the Cabinet on Friday, before turning to the recent Formula One event at the Sepang International Circuit.
Praising the event, he said Malaysia had managed to host it with relatively little spending, apart from minor repairs and improvements to the track, while more than 250,000 people attended.
He also recounted inviting his wife to watch the race, only for her to question the appeal of watching expensive cars whizz past at high speed.
“She said, what do you see? I said, this fabulous, expensive sports car.
“She said, my dear, you could hardly see them. There’s a zoom, zoom. Why the excitement?” he recounted, drawing laughter.
Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was affected by heavy rain. After a delayed start and then a suspended start procedure, as several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap, the race eventually got under way in slippery, mixed conditions, leading to split tyre strategies and plenty of early action.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came third for Ferrari.
Anwar ended by praising Khazanah Nasional’s management and its efforts, saying he was proud of the sovereign wealth fund’s work and would continue supporting its initiatives.
