PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has asked workers to join forces with the unity government and go to war with big time corrupters.
The nation, he said, was RM1.5 trillion in debt,and it was partly because of the economic climate and the other was due to the robbery of government coffers and a fractured economic system.
"If you want the economy to progress, if you want the revenue to increase, we need to fight and get rid of big time corrupters.
"I want workers to be in line with me. We rise and go to war with them (big corrupters). But some of them say, this is revenge.
"What revenge? You steal hundreds of millions of ringgit, we take action and you say it is revenge. Do you ever hear them talking about the fate of factory workers or civil servants? What they do is defend (corruption), say do not take revenge on corrupters and robbers in the country.
"Luckily I am the prime minister so I am mindful of my language. I control it. If not, I will 'gasak' all the way (let loose)," he said at the Labour Day celebration in Putrajaya International Convention Centre, today.
Anwar said it was difficult for the government to provide an additional RM200 a month to civil servants amid the suffering economy but it was easy for big figures and leaders to scoop up hundreds of millions of ringgit from government coffers.
He added that he was grateful that the components of the unity government had collectively agreed to stop the old destructive ways and rise to the spirit of Malaysia Madani.
The government, he said, was doing all it could to weed out corruption and save millions of ringgit through efforts such as renegotiating contracts and returning the extra funds to the people.
"I thank the Inland Revenue Board which has now become stricter in collecting taxes from bigwigs who earn billions but pay little taxes. This is why there has been an increase (in revenue)," he added.