Malaysia has to instil a strong respect for the value of life to attain holistic sustainable development under humanitarian grounds of fairness, integrity and greater transparency, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in setting the new direction for the nation to move forward today (Jan 18).
Anwar explained that the nation’s new mandate or ‘Madani Nation’ stands on six distinct thrusts of Sustainability, Care and Compassion, Respect, Innovation, Prosperity and Trust. Fundamentally, the Madani concept reflects the trust forged between the government and the people on the basis of accountability and transparency.
Anwar said the mandate carries a stronger sense of democratic governance which will not side-line as segment of society in Malaysia. It will focus on the humanitarian dimension of moral values and ethics to uplift the level of human dignity across Malaysia.
“We want to ensure that while the economy will grow robustly, the people will not be forsaken and that the government is accountable in its service to the country,” he said, adding, policymakers, leaders of ministries, and national agencies want to know where this Unity Government is headed this year and in the future. Therefore, this Madani concept has been formulated as our effort to map out a strategy to govern the country effectively.
“The country that we aspire to, and will develop later must be based on MADANI,” he said in his speech at the ‘Developing a Madani Nation’ event held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) this morning.
The government would recognise the right of every Malaysian citizen, whatever his or her background, to live in sustainable communities and environments. “It highlights care and compassion in all segments of society to promote equality and equal opportunity. It encourages mutual respect as a social and cultural norm to enhance inclusiveness. It seeks to make innovation prevalent in all aspects of national life.
The policy framework further stated that the emphasis of the government’s vision is on synthesis, combining established practices with new methods designed to cope with emerging issues and uncertainties.
Economic restructuring should be based on ethics of sustainability to avoid waste, combat leaks and corruption.
Anwar said yesterday, at a ministerial meeting, about RM5 or RM6 Billion could have been saved based on the Auditor General’s Report 2021 on expenses, leakages and matters on non-compliance affecting their ministries. In total, the nation could have saved about RM 15 billion.
This will be looked into seriously and rectified by political leaders and civil servants. The government is also serious to uplift the level of governance such as hastening approvals and stopping commission pay-outs to build confidence in country which abides by the law and does not oppress anyone, and this has to begin at the highest levels of government.
Anwar said, as a nation which has been independent for over six decades, there has not been sufficient focus in eradicating poverty. Government data shows that there are 136 000 households still categorised as being hardcore poor. This cannot continue as it infringes their human rights.
“It’s ‘Haram’ to neglect the issue or be corrupt when the welfare of the poor is not cared for.”
Another aspect of the mandate, Anwar said, is the restructuring of the nation’s economy with the focus being on projects which are beneficial to the greater number of the people and no longer an elite few. These include enlarging the focus on green, energy driven and digital sectors and develop these new challenges.
On the point of revitalising the economy, he noted that Malaysia’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) make up 97.2% of the total business community which employs about 70 per cent of Malaysia’s labour force and sufficient opportunities must be created to further boost this segment. In relation to this, the system must create greater opportunities for the Bumiputeras to vie for larger projects including that which the government offers, so as not to only focus on large corporations.
The underlying message of the mandate is to ensure that every Malaysian will not be left out in the nation’s development. The poor who are side-lined need to be free from poverty but this does not mean there should be a dependency syndrome for government aid but they should take on new opportunities to free themselves out of property. And, this covers all races including those from Sabah and Sarawak.
“Am certain with a strong leadership, Malaysia will once again be a formidable nation not marred by scandal or racial issues. I call on all Malaysians, the leaders in government and the civil service to create a Malaysia which is prosperous, progressive, fair and stands on unwavering humanitarian ground and to realise its independence.
The ‘Madani Nation’ mandate replaces former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s “Keluarga Malaysia” tagline.
