Corruption: Action Taken Should Not Define Entire Ministries, Security Forces - PM Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said legal action taken in relation to the weaknesses in the implementation of certain projects should not lead to negative perceptions of ministries involved or the security forces.
The Prime Minister stressed that such firm actions are taken only against a small number of officers found to be involved in corruption cases, for example, and should not be associated with the overall integrity of the ministries or agencies concerned.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said that while the implementation of physical development projects in previous years had generally been strong, the government is aware that several ministries failed to fully meet project implementation targets last year.
He said this was shared by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar yesterday.
“Like corruption cases, they involve only a small minority. I want my colleagues in the security forces, the military and the police to know that, overall, they are credible, capable and have made great sacrifices.
“The same goes for ministries. Calls to improve performance do not mean a total failure. It’s just that appropriate action must be taken against the officers involved so that the implementation of projects can be expedited, especially small projects that bring direct benefits to the people,” Anwar told reporters after Friday prayers at Usamah Bin Zaid Mosque in Wangsa Maju here today.
Yesterday, Shamsul Azri said that 14 ministry secretaries-general would be summoned to explain why their ministries failed to meet physical project development targets last year.
Without naming the ministries involved, he said expenditure on development projects by the ministries concerned stood at 87.91 per cent, which is below the national average and warrants serious attention.
According to Shamsul Azri, people-centric projects such as the construction and upgrading of roads, schools, clinics and hospitals continued, but implementation had been slow.
-- BERNAMA
