National Assembly deputies expressed high hopes that newly-elected Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will take more drastic measures in the fight against corruption.

Deputy Le Nhu Tien said that, “Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc always participated in the government’s domestic administration and anti-corruption work in his previous positions, which should have given him valuable experience in the fight against corruption and crime.”

Deputy Bui Duc Thu from Lai Chau Province said that the most important task of the government and the prime minister in particular in the next term would be anti-corruption efforts. “I expect specific and more drastic measures from the newly-appointed PM to deal with corruption and bolster public trust.”

Deputy Le Nam from Thanh Hoa Province suggested the government and the prime minister should focus on the country’s urgent issues which are protecting national sovereignty and corruption.

“We are eager to see specific and effective outcomes from the newly-appointed PM’s fight against corruption. This is the also the public’s view,” Nam added.

At his inaugural speech as PM, Phuc said he was committed to promoting reform and international integration, accelerating administrative reform, and creating a favourable business and investment environment.

He said the government will spare no effort to promote democracy, strengthen discipline in the civil service and whole of society, while improving efficiency in the fight against corruption and wastefulness, persistently and resolutely defending national independence, sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity.

Phuc previously showed his determination in anti-corruption campaigns as a deputy PM. “Corruption has become a risk to threaten the country’s political stability, social order and its moral values,” he said at a conference in HCM City late 2015.

At a meeting in Hanoi recently, he instructed local authorities to tighten loopholes that made corruption possible.

The public should pin high hopes on the newly-appointed PM to address corruption, and this will be a heavy burden for the PM to shoulder.