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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed there was a serious violation of standard procedure in the spending of RM600 billion (around S$185 billion) of government funds during the Perikatan Nasional administration, led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Anwar also warned Muhyiddin not to challenge him when it comes to revealing the "processes and procedures" that were not followed, Free Malaysia Today and The Star reported.

These involved companies linked to his family members, he added, citing information given to him by the finance ministry.

Speaking at a press conference on Dec. 5, Anwar implied that Perikatan Nasional’s election funds partly came from gaming companies involved in special draws, according to Malaysiakini. 

He also revealed that special 4D draws will be reduced to eight after Muhyiddin's administration increased the number to 22 in 2021.

Anwar hinted that the previous administration had taken money from the gambling activities for its own use, according to The Star.

The Malaysian leader, who has also officially started his duties on Dec. 6 as finance minister, also said he will review a plan for a state-owned 5G network introduced by the previous government as it was not formulated transparently, Reuters reported.

The previous government had previously established Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) to build and manage the country's network, a move that many have questioned. The state-owned 5G network had also raised concerns from the country's major carriers over pricing, transparency and monopoly.

Anwar maintained that he will not compromise on the anti-corruption drive. He commented that those who criticised kleptocracy were not "clean" themselves.

"It's interesting that those who have been using kleptocracy are themselves very much compromised in many of these big dealings benefiting their sons or children or in-laws," he said.

"So I must remind them, if you really want to get to the bottom of it (corruption), you must be prepared to be truly transparent and be investigated."

Criticised for "kleptocracy"

Muhyiddin had previously accused Anwar of compromising his reform agenda by appointing Barisan Nasional Chairman Ahmad Zahid as his deputy prime minister.

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Top image via Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook