Kuala Lumpur: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on Malaysians not to lose interest in politics, stating that corruption would continue to spread if the wrong leaders were voted in the 15th general election (GE15).
Speaking at a conference here, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said Malaysians must have the courage to bring about change by electing ” non-corrupt” political leaders at the next general election.
“If we choose to reject politics, the future of our children will be determined by corrupt people,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if we are Malay, Kadazan, Chinese, Indian … we have a choice. Do not allow the people to suffer (from corrupt politicians).”
Also present were Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, said that PH had consistently rejected governments that practised corrupt politics.
“Who can deny that the political elite have collected wealth for themselves at the expense of the people?
“This is not a racial issue. Everyone is plagued by abuse of power and corruption, and there are those attacking the judiciary as they fear a brave and independent body (judiciary).
“From the beginning, we have stood up to uphold justice and voice out the concerns of the public.”
Meanwhile, Mohamad said that although PH was accused of governing the country poorly when it was in control of the federal government for 22 months, the coalition had managed to improve the country’s standing in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index.
Touching on the police decision to investigate a protest at Kampung Baru, organised by Amanah against the rising prices of goods yesterday, Mohamad said that he was willing to take to the streets again to highlight the issue.
“If I have to go down to the streets again, I will,” he said. “The government is not listening to what we have to say.”
