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Anwar: Differences of opinion between ministries don't mean split in govt
Differences of opinion between ministries do not necessarily mean there are cracks in the government, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
According to him, the government ensures effective inter-ministerial coordination to maintain policy consistency, prevent overlapping functions, and ensure that decisions reflect public interests and fiscal capacity.
“The government wishes...
Differences of opinion between ministries do not necessarily mean there are cracks in the government, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
According to him, the government ensures effective inter-ministerial coordination to maintain policy consistency, prevent overlapping functions, and ensure that decisions reflect public interests and fiscal capacity.
“The government wishes to emphasise that differences of opinion or approach between ministries do not necessarily reflect a split in the government.
“On the contrary, it is part of the process of discussion and policy consideration that takes into account their respective responsibilities, jurisdiction, and priorities,” he said in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar (above) said this in response to a question from opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, who asked for clarification on why the Finance Ministry and the Rural and Regional Development Ministry could publicly issue conflicting stances.
A dispute previously arose over allocations for rural road projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Funding dispute
Last September, Zahid expressed disappointment over delayed payments to contractors who had completed projects and met targets, saying the delays had caused cash flow problems and forced some out of business.
/file/attachments/orphans/ZahidHamidi1_597968.png "UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi circa October 2026 191026")
However, Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican denied restrictions on the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's rural road allocation, saying the full approved amount had been disbursed.
He attributed the payment delays to the near-exhaustion of this year's allocation, claiming the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had consistently committed and spent beyond its approved budget. The Finance Ministry then approved an additional RM300 million to settle outstanding contractor payments.
The dispute continued on Oct 20, when the Finance Ministry disclosed that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had received another RM500 million from other ministries' development allocation savings to cover spending beyond its annual budget.
The Finance Ministry also said the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had been instructed to suspend new letters of acceptance for rural road projects from Sept 10 to prevent further payment arrears.
/file/publisher-c1a3f893382d2b2f8a9aa22a654d9c97/2020/11/99dcf390a402d59a4c385f087caa5034.jpg "View of Ministry of Finance building MoF Building #MOF #FINANCE #ECONOMY #BUDGET2021 #BELANJAWAN 041120 Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia hq office generic")
Elaborating further, Anwar said government policies and decisions must undergo appropriate consideration and coordination processes, while matters requiring collective decisions will be brought to the cabinet.
“The government will continue to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation, enhance the effectiveness of policy implementation, and monitor the achievements of each initiative to ensure that decisions made are translated into tangible, sustainable outcomes that benefit the people,” he said.
Differences within the govt should be aired and settled in the Cabinet. When they are aired publicly it does mean a split in government. The optics is venting of frustration since they can’t leave the govt thanks to the MoU/CSA. It also means disrespect of the leadership which in this case is being stomached painfully just so the PM can be in power. All this is caused by the CSA which allows partnership at the national level and unhealthy competition at the state level making the partnership at the federal level shaky. That’s instability caused by the CSA and what caused the strain between the PM and Umno. When there’s a national threat, a CSA will prevent such unhealthy competition and partnerships because there will be no state elections. In peacetime, thus the CSA becomes a liability and is being used not for govt stability but to enable a govt without majority support to hijack the democratic processes to introduce unconstitutional laws to advance a private agenda by stealth in cahoots with unelected cronies without telling the people and without their mandate. Making such alliances is not in the interests of the people but the interests of the leaders. It has nothing to do with the stability of the nation. This is neither moral nor democratic nor constitutional.
I thought all projects have to go through the Finance Ministry before it can be approved and awarded? So, how did the Rural Development Ministry manage to overspend by so much?
Yada yada yada?
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