“Bersih gave us a ‘D’. It’s okay. It’s a ‘D’, not an ‘F’.
“One could get a ‘D’ for UPSR but score an ‘A’ in SPM,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
The now-abolished UPSR examination was taken by Year 6 students, while SPM is taken by those in Form Five.
“We (the administration) are still in our infancy,” Anwar said when asked by Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) to explain Bersih’s “D” grade.
Bersih said on Tuesday that the unity government’s grade reflected its limited progress in carrying out reforms as well as the gap between its rhetoric and action.
The group also ranked Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the best of five prime ministers, including Anwar, Muhyiddin Yassin, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Razak.
Media freedom
Separately, Anwar acknowledged the need to improve the international ranking of media freedom in the country but said certain limitations exist due to issues tied to the 3Rs of race, religion and royalty.
According to Bernama, Anwar said the limitations stemmed from a request by the Malay rulers for the government to take a stricter stance on these matters and avoid their open discussion.
“While we allow open discussions, the Malay rulers’ meetings have been very firm, and we are bound by their views that they do not want or permit any form of public criticism without action,” he was quoted as saying.
Anwar added that no action was taken over criticism directed at him, no matter how harsh it was.
“However, if a police report is lodged, the police will handle it,” he said.
Responding to Awang’s question on the Political Financing Bill, the prime minister said the proposed legislation is still under review by the parliamentary special committee and he had no objections to expediting its implementation.
“In fact, during a Cabinet meeting, we agreed to implement it but to let the parameters be discussed by the parliamentary special committee,” he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the Constituency Development Fund, Anwar said the opposition’s reluctance to negotiate had caused delays in the matter.
Previously, the opposition unanimously rejected the memorandum of understanding on opposition allocations proposed by the government, claiming that it conflicted with the Federal Constitution.