Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on July 20 affirmedthat corruption whistleblowers will be protected by the new Government, led bythe Alliance of Hope, reported the Malay Mail newspaper.

The governmentis committed to not only anti-corruption methods but also active cleansing ofthe current system, the PM said in his remarks at the annual meeting of theAssociated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Malaysia (ACCCIM).

Heassured those with information on corrupt activities that they need not fearbacklash or retaliation for reporting.

ThePM also unveiled that his government will formulate new laws to replacedraconian ones that hamper the country’s development.

The Alliance ofHope (PH) is led by Mahathir Mohamad who won the general election on May 10with 113 out of the parliament’s 222 seats.

The new PM saidone of the top priorities for his Government is dealing with corruption andrecovering the loss of billions of US dollars from the 1Malaysia DevelopmentBerhad (1MDB) investment fund, which was founded by his predecessor NajibRazak.

On July 10, herequired Cabinet members to declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-CorruptionCommission (MACC) and refuse gifts of more value than perishable food andflowers.

Thisrequirement applies to the entire Government, including Mahathir himself, andmembers of the Parliament.

Malaysian lawmakers are also draftinga law to ensure political parties do not return favours to financial donorsthat support them. 

Mahathir Mohamad said corruptioncould only be successfully curbed if the top leaders in the government were trulyfree from corrupt practices.–VNA