DEMOCRATIC accountability must extend beyond elections to ensure those in power are held responsible for their actions, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, identifying weak oversight as a fundamental governance challenge facing Malaysia and the wider world.
Anwar said the failure of modern societies, including democracies, to ensure that those in power were genuinely held accountable had contributed to governance problems at both national and global levels.
“The failure of modern societies, including democratic countries, to ensure that those in power are truly held accountable, not only during elections, but accountability in the true sense of the word,” he said in his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum (KMF) 2026 in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said the issue had become more pressing amid unfair trade practices, unilateral tariffs, continuing wars and widespread injustice.
“We speak of unfair trade practices, unreasonable tariffs imposed unilaterally, wars that continue to take place and major injustices around the world.
“Many of these issues need to be addressed together. I think the fundamental and most important question is how we address the issue of governance,” he said.
Anwar also said he would present Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s report on KMF 2026 to the Cabinet on Friday.
The forum, themed ‘Who Holds the Power? Keeping the Keepers in Check in an Unequal World’, examines how power is distributed and exercised as global imbalances deepen. - October 5, 2026
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