LUMUT: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged all ministers, senior federal and state government officials, as well as policy and project implementers, to frequently engage with the public to better understand the issues faced by the people.
The Prime Minister said members of parliament should also adopt this approach to ensure local concerns are addressed more effectively and comprehensively.
“Even senior civil servants are requested to go to the ground, which is why we have initiatives like Sejati MADANI and Kampung Angkat MADANI. These enable senior officials, including ministers, to identify any disconnect between policy statements and their implementation at the grassroots level.
“When we engage at the ground level, we discuss issues like education, unemployment, drug abuse, healthcare facilities and economic projects. All these must be addressed thoroughly because the challenges reported may differ between federal and state levels,” he said.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said this at the closing of the Perak-level MADANI Rakyat Programme (PMR) 2025 held at Lumut Waterfront here today.
Anwar stressed the importance of directly listening to the people’s grievances through initiatives like the MADANI Rakyat programme or dialogue sessions between leaders and the public to gather feedback on areas needing improvement in development projects.
Citing examples, Anwar said he learned about issues such as damaged toilets in many schools and limited internet access in higher education institutions (IPT) through interactions with the public during community engagement programmes at eateries or Friday prayers.
He said such grassroots engagement allows the government to act swiftly in addressing these problems.
“We talk about artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, Microsoft and so on, but we still have broken toilets and no internet access. This is a major contradiction because while we want to prepare for an advanced future, basic infrastructure must be resolved first,” he said.
Also present at the closing ceremony were Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, representing the lead ministry.
Among others present were Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, and senior federal and state officials.
The three-day Perak PMR 2025 marked the second large-scale edition of the programme, held through strategic collaboration between the Performance Acceleration and Coordination Unit (PACU) under the Prime Minister’s Department as the lead secretariat, and the Higher Education Ministry as the main implementing agency.
PMR 2025 is held in both large and small-scale formats, with the first large-scale edition held in Tawau, Sabah from May 9 to 11.
