SERDANG, Jan 16 — The second retreat involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and ministers of the Unity Government tomorrow will seek new initiatives to spur the country’s economy.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the retreat would also review the implementation of policies launched by the government throughout last year.
“We will also be looking for further policy implementation and specific steps needed to continue propelling us forward.
“We have already put in place initiatives in terms of energy transition (National Energy Transition Roadmap), digital transformation and permanent investments, and we are looking for new things to boost the country’s strength,” he said.
He told reporters this after the launch of the AI Untuk Rakyat (AI for the People) programme at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) here today, which was also attended by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
Anwar said the question of eradicating hardcore poverty would continue to be emphasised to ensure no states would be left out of such initiatives.
Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported as saying that a two-day retreat involving the prime minister and the Cabinet would be held in Cyberjaya beginning tomorrow.
The first such retreat was held in Putrajaya in January last year and it discussed, among other things, the direction and setting of key performance indicators for every ministry in the Unity Government.
Tun M’s remark irresponsible
On a separate matter, Anwar said the government strongly objects to the statement by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysian Indians are still not completely loyal to the country.
Describing the statement as irresponsible, Anwar said Dr Mahathir, as a former prime minister who served for a long time, should not make such remarks against the Indian community or any other races in the country.
“His statement is entirely baseless, but he is known to make such a statement such as calling the Malays lazy except for himself, while Indians and Chinese are considered less loyal unless they are his cronies.
“We must respect the rights of all communities, whether majority or minority, and unite towards addressing the core issues. This kind of statement seems to divert public attention from the government’s effort to combat corruption and uphold good governance,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, Anwar described the former prime minister’s remarks as a form of old-fashioned thinking that could harm the country.
Dr Mahathir, in an exclusive online interview with an Indian satellite TV channel Thanthi TV recently, claimed that Malaysian Indians are not completely loyal to the country as they are still ‘inexorably tied’ to their country of origin.
— Bernama
