AYER KEROH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has described himself as the “least racist” politician while defending his government’s record in providing assistance and programmes for Malaysians of all races.
“I am the least racist. I grew up in a multi-racial town, and my close friends are the Malays, Chinese and Indians.
“When I was president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), I had very close relations with many non-Muslim organisations and non-Malay friends.
“So I have nothing to apologise for. For me, this is about consistency, and that is important,” he said during his winding-up speech on the president’s policy speech at the 2026 PKR National Congress on Sunday (Aug 16).
Anwar said the Madani administration had significantly increased programmes and assistance for all communities, including the Indian community, despite some members questioning whether enough had been done.
“I took on the task of coordinating all the programmes. Programmes for the Indian community under Madani are at their highest level in history. There has never been an approach like this before.
“But it is not getting through, so I want to remind branch chiefs, branch leaders and Keadilan leaders, those at the front and those at the back, to get to work and explain it.
“It is not propaganda. It is a reality. We have done it,” he said.
Anwar said PKR members and leaders needed to do more to explain the government’s policies and translate its achievements at the macro level into tangible benefits for the people.
He said this included programmes aimed at improving the welfare of people across income groups.
“When we provide assistance to the people, if we compare it with previous assistance, some may say that the 1Malaysia assistance was higher.
“But look at the figures, there is a huge difference with Rahmah assistance,” he said.
Anwar said the government had also made progress in reducing hardcore poverty, with the latest figure standing at 0.09% in 2024.
