PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia cannot be complacent with its achievements and must strive to be better, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
While expressing pride at the country’s progress, the Prime Minister said his reminder serves as a motivator to ensure Malaysia reaches greater heights.
“We want better efficiency alongside individuals who practice integrity.
“These are things easy to say but not as easy to put into practice.
“We must always ask ourselves what steps must be taken to further improve,” he said in his speech at the 44th World Customs Day celebration here on Monday (Jan 26).
Malaysia, Anwar said, has reached the stage where everyone must come on board and put efforts towards guaranteeing a better future.
“There are positive signs all round but we must know that this alone is not enough to uplift the rakyat.
“We know our abilities and what room we have for improvement,” he said.
He also congratulated the Customs Department on its achievements.
“If we want to achieve greater growth and economic developments, we need to have a positive attitude and accept new realities,” he said.
Earlier, Customs Department director-general Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin said some RM76.18bil was collected by the Customs Department last year, its highest collection since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anis Rizana said this exceeded the initial target of RM67.25 bil set by the Finance Ministry as well as the Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government’s Revenue Estimates.
The figures, she said, made up an additional RM8.93 bil, putting the final collection figure at 113% when compared to the initial target.
