Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged - in an exclusive interview with the "Interview" program - that corruption has caused an economic collapse in Malaysia, so that he no longer views it as an Islamic renaissance model, but he stressed that it will rise again, and that he is working to achieve this through Governance, combating corruption and building the economy.

He also revealed that the task force for tracking the looted funds in the case of the Malaysian Sovereign Fund is still working to recover as much as possible of that money, amounting to about $35 billion.

Ibrahim said that Malaysia had previously achieved a certain level of success, especially at the economic level, but this success has collapsed, and the country is facing difficult economic challenges today.

There is a disparity between the rich and the poor, and there is extreme poverty, especially among the majority of Muslims and Malays, although Malaysia enjoys an abundance of oil, gas, agriculture and industry.

He revealed that the scale of corruption in Malaysia is large and is reflected in the “Malaysian Sovereign Fund” scandal, which negatively affected the economy, as the volume of looted funds in the fund’s case amounted to $35 billion, stressing that the state was able to recover 50% of that money, and continues its efforts to retrieve more of them.

The fund was established by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2009, and at that time collected funds estimated at $12 billion, which were supposed to be pumped into a project to establish a new financial capital and other development projects, but suspicious financial transfers linked to the fund sparked a scandal in 2015, and Abdul Razak was convicted because of it. On charges that included abuse of power and breach of trust, after embezzling funds from a branch of the Sovereign Fund.

According to the US Department of Justice, $4.5 billion flowed from the fund to shell companies that engaged in fraud to finance the extravagance and corruption of those responsible for the Malaysian sovereign fund.

Despite his acknowledgment of the extent of corruption that ravages the body of the Malaysian state, the Malaysian prime minister confirmed that his mission as prime minister and minister of finance at the same time is to work to purify the country from corruption and the corrupt, and said that he will not tolerate any abuses, and any leader or politician proven guilty will be executed. his dismissal.

He called on the international community not to blame the corruption issue on the current government, and considered that from the past, stressing Malaysia's need to win the confidence of foreign investors.

China is a major partner of Malaysia

On the foreign policy trends of Malaysia during his tenure, the guest of the episode (3/5/2023) of the "The Interview" program described the conflict between the United States and China as an unfortunate matter that causes his country many problems, especially as it is a commercial country that relies on Beijing, which is a very important neighboring country. And a major trading partner for his country, which at the same time engages in very friendly relations with Washington.

Regarding Malaysia's role in the Islamic world, Ibrahim - who is considered one of the pioneers of the Islamic reform movement in his country - noted that Malaysia was supportive of business relations, whether through the Islamic Conference or bilateral relations, and will continue in this role, indicating that he personally looks forward to dealing with countries Islamic and visit some of them, such as Saudi Arabia.

It is noteworthy that Ibrahim - who has held the position of Prime Minister in Malaysia since November 2022 - joined the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) party in 1982 and rose quickly within the party and became one of its most prominent figures.

He held several ministries between 1983 and 1998;

The most important of which are finance, agriculture and development, and in 1997 his relationship with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad became strained.

He was accused of corruption and a prison sentence was issued against him after his conviction in 1998, and in 2004 he was acquitted and released.

Then he returned to politics and was elected to the Malaysian Parliament in 2008, where he called for reforms.

Between 2009 and 2015 he led the opposition in parliament, defended freedom of the press and a free economy, and demanded the fight against corruption.

In 2018, he allied with Mahathir Muhammad and won the majority in the parliamentary elections in 2018, to be assigned in 2022 to form the government after leading the "Coalition of Hope", which he leads in the general elections in 2020.