Tun M: "If You Tell Us What Has Happened, We Will Protect You From Any Retaliation"
The 93-year-old leader has promised to run a clean government.
By Sadho Ram — 21 Jul 2018, 11:42 AM
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad assured that those who blow the whistle on corruption will be protected from retaliation
The Prime Minister made the promise on Friday during the 72nd annual general meeting of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM).
Assuring that the new Pakatan Harapan government is going to be clean, Tun Dr Mahathir has urged whistleblowers in the business community to reveal corrupt activities without fearing any backlash as his administration will protect them.
"I know some businesspeople are worried that if they reveal the person who is corrupt, some retaliation might be taken by the person concerned or his colleagues.
"But, in this case, if you tell us what has happened, we will protect you from any retaliation by government servants. We want a clean government, and I believe, so do you," the leader of the new Malaysia said during his keynote speech.
While saying that the PH government is going to "replace old, draconian laws which were not contributing towards the development of Malaysia," he asked people for their support and to have faith in his administration to "correct the mistakes of the past"
Recalling his first tenure when he became prime minister in 1981, Tun Dr Mahathir related how the current times are vastly different and what his new priorities are.
"When I became prime minister in 1981, there was little work to do. All I needed to do was to fill in empty slots with people who already had the experienced to run the government.
"Today, we have to rebuild the government because so many things have been destroyed that it is time-consuming, it is very difficult for us to run the government efficiently in the initial stages. We have, however, made considerable progress as we have rid ourselves of the rotten setup and we are now cleaning up the rest of the country.
"We are introducing new laws to replace old, draconian laws which were not contributing towards the development of Malaysia. In this, we need your support. We need you to have faith in us, to give us time to correct the mistakes of the past," he said to some 1,000 attendees at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
