One year not enough to resolve all issues, says Anwar

PUTRAJAYA: It is not possible to solve all problems within a year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“That is why we focus based on priorities,” the PKR president said during his opening speech at the party’s congress here on Saturday (Nov 25).

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“I hope that you, my friends, would understand. I ask ministers and deputy ministers to frequently go to the ground to explain this to the people,” he said.

He also told party divisions to alert him if their respective leaders do not do so.

He said it was important to learn lessons from the mistakes that happened during the previous Pakatan Harapan government’s tenure.

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“It was not the Cabinet’s mistake but there was pressure from the top. The elites wanted ICERD and Rome Statute to be ratified in our country,” he said.

He added that all these were not discussed with the Cabinet, MPs and even the people.

As a result, he said there was a lack of understanding over these matters among the people, which in turn allowed the Opposition to exploit it.

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“We cannot repeat this. Although there are some elites and liberals who said we are slow in reforms, but believe me, we must learn from the past experience,” he said.

He said if the government is hasty in implementing its reforms agenda, the people will reject them.

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Citing examples from the French Revolution, he said the French farmers had suffered as elites had thought of reforms that would only benefit them instead of putting an end to poverty.

He said the unity government will not repeat these mistakes.

He said although the government might face pressure from certain quarters, it must choose the middle path that will benefit everyone.

The two-day party congress kicked off on Saturday with the Wanita PKR and Angkatan Muda Keadilan congresses.

This is also the first party congress held after Anwar’s appointment as the tenth prime minister on Nov 24, 2022.