KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 29 -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said billions of ringgit lost through leakages and misuse must be recovered and returned to Malaysians, arguing that the government could not justify allowing vast sums of public money to disappear while ordinary people received relatively modest amounts in assistance.

Sinar Harian reported that Anwar said the government had a duty to act against the loss or misuse of public funds, although any action must be based on investigations and evidence.

"I want to stop that, take the money back and give it back to the people. That's all. And for that, I get cursed in all sorts of ways.

"If people only want RM2,000, but what you took and allowed to disappear runs into billions of...