CNA – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that it is not a problem for a prime minister to also helm the Finance Ministry, as long as the position is not being abused.
“In our history, whether (the two positions) are combined or not is not a problem. The problem is using the position to steal the people’s money,” he said yesterday during the inaugural Prime Minister’s Question and Answer Session (PMQ) in Parliament.
“This applies to various circles, those who are clean… don’t worry. But those who are involved in corruption should feel pressured and worried.”
Anwar added that he will do everything he can to prevent the abuse of power and rampant corruption from happening in his unity government.
Besides Anwar, former prime minister Najib Razak also held the finance portfolio during his premiership.
Najib has since been implicated and charged for his alleged role in the embezzlement of state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He was convicted of misappropriating MYR42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
Anwar’s response during yesterday’s PMQ came after Putrajaya Member of Parliament (MP) Radzi Jidin asked him whether holding both the positions of prime minister and finance minister would create an opportunity for a similar scandal to occur.
This is not the first time that Anwar has been criticised for holding the two posts concurrently.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin previously slammed Anwar’s decision to helm the Finance Ministry, saying that doing so would erode investors’ trust in his leadership.
Responding, Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli had clarified that Anwar’s decision to hold the finance minister post was due to “extraordinary circumstances”.
The Pandan MP also said that it would not be easy for Anwar to potentially abuse large sums of government funds due to greater scrutiny.
