Anwar speaks of how he wants to be remembered

JOHOR BAHRU: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his wish to leave behind a legacy of fair, clean and dedicated leadership that serves all communities in the country.

Speaking at a dinner with the Chinese community here tonight, Anwar said he wanted to be remembered as a leader who dealt with every segment of society, regardless of race.

“Every single citizen in this country is important. As prime minister, I must serve everybody. I must show I love my people. I’m already old. Tomorrow when I retire, I want people to say Anwar loved the people, and the people loved him back. So let’s look after this nation as our own, together. That is the only way we can succeed,” he said.

Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan chairman, said it was time for Malaysians to move past race-based politics and channel all efforts into nation-building.

“We’ve been independent for nearly 70 years, yet we’re still fighting over race … this person can be a friend, but DAP cannot, DAP in KL is fine, but not in Johor,” he said.

Anwar said he would continue to drive Johor’s development regardless of the outcome of the state assembly elections, but acknowledged that strong state-federal ties would smooth the way for development agendas.

He urged Johoreans, including those working in Singapore and elsewhere, to return and vote on July 11. Voter turnout across all races was vital, he said.