Malaysian Madani Government’s first year anniversary: Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim addresses ‘democratic accountability’

By Nur Najia Nazri

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 December 2023: Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim presented his speech at the closing ceremony of the One Year with the Malaysian Madani Government programme at National Stadium Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur. The highlight of the Prime Minister’s speech was on ‘democracy accountability’ underscoring that leaders at every level must carry out their actions responsibly.

The speech was delivered on Sunday afternoon (10 November 2023) which was the final day of a three-day programme that was held from 8 to 10 November 2023. It was a celebration of the Madani government’s first anniversary.

According to official figures provided by the secretariat, over 230,000 people attended the event which proves its ability to attract many audiences in promoting government policies and initiatives throughout the year.

The Prime Minister began his speech by stating that democracy is not a platform to argue but to allow direct participation of the people, hence the reason why the government is annually reporting of its efforts is so that the people can make their assessment based on facts and figures.

“That is why, although it is quite difficult and burdensome, I had to bear the Prime Minister’s question time, which is an example of how responsibility should be implemented,” mentioned the Dato’ Seri Anwar. He also expressed that democratic accountability is not only within the scope of elections and parliaments but also among the people themselves. 

With that, he announced that starting from 2024, each village and long house will be provided with an economic fund of a minimum of RM50,000 and a maximum of RM100,000. The fund allocation will also be decided by the villagers themselves according to the priorities of the activities they establish.

He concluded his speech by expressing his hope that all of the rakyat can together to build our strength as we aim to meet our goals and his gratitude to all parties involved who had made the programme a success.***