PUTRAJAYA, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- The MADANI Government does not practise favouritism because all allocation decisions are made based on the people's needs and balanced development nationwide, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated today.
Anwar, also the Finance Minister, said the government's allocations to all states, including opposition-held states, should not be turned into a political issue because the MADANI Government has proven its commitment by always increasing allocations to these states.
"It's not appropriate for several states controlled by the opposition in the Peninsula to claim 'we are marginalised, we are wronged’, because the reality is totally different.
"What we have done over the past few years, the MADANI Government has proven that allocations for Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis have been increased, not because we chose to, but due to necessity,” he said in his speech at the National Integrity Premier Address and National-Level Integrity, Governance and Anti-Corruption Awards (AIGA 2025) here today.
Also present were Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar; Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz; Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa; Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Ramdzan Daud; and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
Anwar said the principle of justice in the distribution of resources and state development was the foundation of the MADANI Government’s administration, which emphasised integrity and good governance.
Recalling the situation in 2003 and 2004, when all allocations to public religious schools were cancelled due to differences in political views, Anwar said he did not agree at all with the move, which he described as sacrificing the future.
"The then Prime Minister, who now champions Malay-Korea ties, cancelled all funding to public religious schools. I did not agree with that. Yes, there were curriculum issues, but hundreds of thousands of children were sacrificed simply because of political differences,” he said.
Anwar said that after taking over the country's administration, the MADANI Government took the initiative to revive public religious schools, especially in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.
In addition, the Prime Minister said an immediate allocation of RM36 million has been provided to repair dilapidated schools that serve children in poor rural and village areas.
"These are our children’s schools. Maybe not our children here, but children in the villages, in poor rural areas. Dilapidated schools must be repaired,” he said.
As such, Anwar hopes that the concept of good governance and integrity be made the foundation of national administration and not be marred by narrow political interests.
-- BERNAMA
