Anwar calls for greater accountability as global governance faces mounting challenges

In his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2026, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim emphasized the need for enhanced accountability in governance, extending beyond elections to address political and economic power imbalances.

Highlighting issues such as geopolitical tensions, technological advances, and global economic pressures, Anwar called for reforms in multilateral institutions and stressed Malaysia's strategic diplomatic engagements to navigate global challenges.

He also highlighted the significance of ASEAN's role in regional stability and the importance of genuine democratic practices while praising Khazanah Nasional's management for its contributions.

Anwar ended with a lighter note about his experience at a recent Formula One event and expressed continued support for the sovereign wealth fund's initiatives.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today called for greater accountability among those wielding political and economic power, saying democratic accountability must extend beyond elections to address failures in governance at both national and international levels.

“The failure of modern societies, including democracies, to hold those in power fully accountable.

“Not only during elections, but accountability in the real sense,” he said in his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2026, themed 'Watching the Watchmen in an Imbalanced World'.

Anwar said the question of who holds those in power accountable had become increasingly important as the world grappled with unilateral tariffs, ongoing wars, technological advances and gross injustices.

He said the central issue was how governance, particularly global governance, could be strengthened to ensure those making decisions were answerable for their consequences.

Referring to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Anwar recalled how businesses built over generations collapsed and Malaysia’s economy contracted by more than 7 per cent in 1998, while ordinary people, including the poor and marginalised, bore the consequences.

He said those in positions of authority often made decisions without adequately considering the plight of people who had little access to policymakers.

Anwar also pointed to the geopolitical, technological and economic challenges confronting the world, including the conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz, the growing influence of artificial intelligence, and the use of tariffs and export controls as instruments of economic pressure.

On international trade, he said Malaysia, as a trading nation, could not afford to be naive about the changing global environment, while calling for reforms to multilateral institutions including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

He said Malaysia had sought to maintain economic and diplomatic ties with both Western and Eastern powers, including the United States, Europe, China, South Korea, Japan and India, despite the challenges of navigating competing interests.

“Don’t envy me for having to, for example, meet and discuss with President Xi Jinping last year here, and having to dance with President Donald Trump just to keep the temperature down.

“And it’s a limited success, by the way. But even then, I’m not naive to consider this an easy one,” he said.

Anwar also said Asean must translate its centrality into the ability to shape regional developments, rather than merely hosting meetings, adding that differences between countries should be resolved through negotiations, trade and investment.

He said Malaysia maintained good relations with its neighbours despite maritime and territorial differences, including those involving Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and the South China Sea.

Anwar said the region’s emphasis on maintaining peace was important for economic growth and development, warning that prolonged conflicts and disputes could lead to catastrophe.

He also stressed that democracy was not merely a principle to be proclaimed, but something that had to be practised.

In a lighter moment, Anwar said he would present the paper discussed at the forum to the Cabinet on Friday, before turning to the recent Formula One event at the Sepang International Circuit.

Praising the event, he said Malaysia had managed to host it with relatively little spending, apart from minor repairs and improvements to the track, while more than 250,000 people attended.

He also recounted inviting his wife to watch the race, only for her to question the appeal of watching expensive cars whizz past at high speed.

“She said, what do you see? I said, this fabulous, expensive sports car.

“She said, my dear, you could hardly see them. There’s a zoom, zoom. Why the excitement?” he recounted, drawing laughter.

Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was affected by heavy rain. After a delayed start and then a suspended start procedure, as several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap, the race eventually got under way in slippery, mixed conditions, leading to split tyre strategies and plenty of early action.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came third for Ferrari.

Anwar ended by praising Khazanah Nasional’s management and its efforts, saying he was proud of the sovereign wealth fund’s work and would continue supporting its initiatives.

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在2026年国库控股大趋势论坛的主题演讲中，安瓦尔·易卜拉欣总理强调，需要加强治理问责制，这不仅包括选举，还包括解决政治和经济权力失衡问题。

安华强调了地缘政治紧张局势、技术进步和全球经济压力等问题，呼吁改革多边机构，并强调马来西亚的战略外交活动有助于应对全球挑战。

他还强调了东盟在区域稳定中的作用以及真正民主实践的重要性，并赞扬了国库控股的管理层所作出的贡献。

安瓦尔最后轻松地谈及了他最近参加一级方程式赛事的经历，并表示将继续支持主权财富基金的各项举措。

吉隆坡，10月5日讯——首相拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣今日呼吁，掌握政治和经济权力的人应承担更大的责任，并表示民主问责制必须超越选举，以解决国家和国际层面的治理失败问题。

“现代社会，包括民主国家，未能让掌权者承担全部责任。

“不仅在选举期间，而且在真正的意义上，问责制也至关重要，”他在以“在一个失衡的世界中监督监督者”为主题的 2026 年 Khazanah 大趋势论坛上发表主旨演讲时说道。

安华表示，随着世界面临单边关税、持续不断的战争、技术进步和严重的不公正现象，谁来追究当权者的责任这一问题变得越来越重要。

他表示，核心问题是如何加强治理，特别是全球治理，以确保决策者对其后果负责。

安华在谈到 1997 年亚洲金融危机时回忆说，几代人建立起来的企业是如何倒闭的，马来西亚经济在 1998 年萎缩了 7% 以上，而包括穷人和边缘化群体在内的普通民众则承受了后果。

他说，那些身居要职的人在做决定时，往往没有充分考虑到那些很少有机会接触政策制定者的人的困境。

安瓦尔还指出，世界面临着地缘政治、技术和经济方面的挑战，包括影响霍尔木兹海峡的冲突、人工智能日益增长的影响力，以及将关税和出口管制作为经济压力的手段。

关于国际贸易，他表示，马来西亚作为一个贸易大国，不能对不断变化的全球环境抱有天真幻想，同时呼吁对包括联合国、世界贸易组织、世界银行和国际货币基金组织在内的多边机构进行改革。

他表示，尽管面临协调各方利益的挑战，马来西亚仍努力与包括美国、欧洲、中国、韩国、日本和印度在内的西方和东方大国保持经济和外交关系。

“不要羡慕我，比如去年我不得不在这里与习近平主席会面和讨论，以及为了缓和局势不得不与唐纳德·特朗普总统共舞。”

“顺便说一句，这只是取得了有限的成功。但即便如此，我也不会天真地认为这是件容易的事，”他说。

安瓦尔还表示，东盟必须将其中心地位转化为塑造区域发展的能力，而不仅仅是举办会议，并补充说，各国之间的分歧应该通过谈判、贸易和投资来解决。

他表示，尽管马来西亚与邻国在海洋和领土问题上存在分歧，包括涉及泰国、印度尼西亚、文莱、菲律宾和南海的问题，但马来西亚仍与邻国保持着良好的关系。

安华表示，该地区重视维护和平对经济增长和发展至关重要，并警告说，长期的冲突和争端可能导致灾难。

他还强调，民主不仅仅是一个需要宣扬的原则，更是一种需要实践的东西。

在轻松的谈话中，安华表示他将在周五向内阁提交论坛上讨论的文件，之后又谈到了最近在雪邦国际赛道举行的F1赛事。

他称赞了这项赛事，并表示马来西亚在赛道进行了一些小修小补和改进之后，仅花费了相对较少的资金就成功举办了这项赛事，而到场观众超过25万人。

他还回忆说，他邀请妻子一起观看比赛，但妻子却质疑观看昂贵的汽车高速飞驰而过的吸引力。

“她说，你看到了什么？我说，这辆漂亮又昂贵的跑车。”

“她说，亲爱的，你几乎看不见他们。镜头一转一转，转啊转。你这么激动干嘛？”他回忆道，引得大家哈哈大笑。

在周日马来西亚巴林大奖赛上，马克斯·维斯塔潘将杆位转化为胜利。这场比赛受到暴雨影响，发车时间一度延迟，随后又因多位车手在暖胎圈难以保持速度而暂停。最终，比赛在湿滑且混合路面上展开，导致车手们采取了不同的轮胎策略，比赛初期也充满了激烈的对抗。

梅赛德斯AMG Petronas F1车手、目前锦标赛领头羊基米·安东内利获得第二名，而七届世界冠军刘易斯·汉密尔顿代表法拉利车队获得第三名。

安华最后赞扬了国库控股的管理和努力，表示他为该主权财富基金的工作感到自豪，并将继续支持其各项举措。

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