KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should ignore former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and carry out as many of the “Reformasi” institutional reforms in the early months of the new Government, as the 10th PM of Malaysia may not have five years to do so.

In a statement on Wednesday (Dec 28), Lim said Anwar should carry out the promise that he would not compromise on good governance,  the anti-corruption drive, judicial independence, and the welfare of ordinary Malaysians.

“He should be aware that there are political forces that are conspiring to end his premiership as early as possible.

“Anwar rightly submitted himself to a vote of confidence in the two-day meeting of Parliament last week, and he should make the February 2023 meeting of Parliament the most important and historic session of the Dewan Rakyat in the 66 years of Parliament by initiating a series of Reformasi institutional reforms, marking the beginning of the process to end Malaysia’s national decline in the last six decades, and to make Malaysia great again as a first-rate world-class plural nation,” said Lim.

He further said that although the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan government was toppled unconstitutionally and illegally by the Sheraton Move, Mahathir cannot fully absolve himself of responsibility for the political onspiracy.

Lim added that Transparency International (TI) will release its 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) next month.

“It is too late for Anwar's Government to do anything to improve Malaysia’s TI 2022 CPI report, but they should do their utmost to ensure that Malaysia’s TI 2023 CPI report is the best for the country, even better than the TI 2019 CPI report, which was the best in  25 years since TI started its annual CPI series in 1995.

“In fact, Malaysians must be prepared for one of the worst TI CPI reports in a month’s time,” Lim warned.