'Full force': Malaysia PM says crusade against corruption is not over as country courts investment

Eradicating corruption in Malaysia continues to be a difficult hurdle Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needs to overcome if he wants to attract more foreign direct investments into the country.

As Anwar draws closer to the second anniversary since being sworn in as prime minister, he remains strongly committed to this crackdown, and has taken a no-nonsense approach in dealing with the problem, he said.

"We have to save the country. To my mind ... the major problem is poor governance and endemic corruption," he told CNBC's JP Ong.

Anwar explained that both domestic and foreign investors will garner more confidence when they see consistency in transparent processes and a stronger commitment to put an end to corruption.

"Without that trust [and] confidence, nobody will invest in a big way. Unless those people who have some corrupt arrangements — they will still continue. But that has to stop. And fortunately, it has stopped," he said.

"Although, we are still carrying on this mission, because I had strongly suggested that when, in terms of corruption, it is almost systemic. When it comes to systemic, which means the mission, the crusade against corruption, has got to be full force," he added.

Malaysia welcomed foreign direct investment inflows of 40.4 billion Malaysian ringgit in 2023 ($9.7 billion), a significant slide from a peak of 48.1 billion ringgit in 2021, government data shows. Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation lost around 277 billion ringgit in economic output due to corruption from 2018 to 2023, according to official data.

When asked by CNBC if the government is going too fast and hard on combating corruption, Anwar said that if he had it his way, "damn it ... I would just go after them without mercy."

However, he