ONE YEAR ON IS NEW MALAYSIA ON TRACK?
It has chalked up achievements, but still has a long way to go, say analysts
AFTER a year in office, the Pakatan Harapan government has made progress, particularly in improving transparency and even fulfilling several items on its manifesto.
Political analysts, however, said the year-old government had a long way to go, needing much improvement in its communication to the masses and more attention on breadand-butter issues.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political analyst Professor Dr P. Sivamurugan said entering its second year as the government, PH had yet to find “certainty” in its style of leadership and communications.
“It is clear that it is lacking in terms of communicating its ideals and policies to the people, which affects public perception. At the beginning of its term, expectations were at a high, with an approval rating of 79 per cent. But now it has dropped to 39 per cent,” he told the New Straits Times. Sivamurugan said the drop should serve as a wake-up call to
the government to focus on more pertinent issues, such as the rising cost of living, petroleum prices and youth and women needs.
The government should also improve ethnic ties, he added, minimising identity politics and moving away from past government legacies.
He pointed out that racial integration was low, with most of the Malays seen with Barisan Nasional and the non-Malays behind PH, and urged the government to focus on the substantial rather than procedural elements.
“We also hope for institutional reform and restructuring of society in the coming years, apart from a smooth transition of leadership, if that takes place.” Sivamurugan said the government did well in trying to curb corruption and cronyism with the introduction of the National AntiCorruption Plan, while also improving media freedom and revisiting negotiation f deals with China. Another political analyst, Dr Ainul Adzellie Hasnul of USM, said the PH government “could do better”, and had yet to address issues of the increasing cost of living.
He said a lot of everyday items were still expensive, adding that this was an effect of the Sales and Services Tax.
“They should revert to the Goods and Services Tax so prices of essential items would not go out of control. They should also give more to the B40 (bottom 40 per cent) income group, under the Bantuan Sara Hidup and review the amount given to bachelors. The RM100 cash aid to this particular segment is just too low.”
Ainul said he hoped ministers would be more careful in giving statements and avoid giving false promises or “ridiculous” ideas.
Universiti Malaya’s Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said PH was still struggling with communications and efficiency.
“Their biggest issue is how they communicate their policies to the people, and we see the effect in their attempts to ratify ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
Awang also said many Malays were unhappy with the way the PH government approached matters pertaining to things, such as the royal institution.
“The Malays don’t feel very comfortable with the public banter between the government and the royalty. They feel that these things should be discussed behind closed doors and not in a public forum.
“Despite all this, it’s not to say that they are doing all bad. They have saved a lot of money through the renegotiation of the East Coast Rail Link project and getting 1Malaysia Development Bhd money back to us.
“But this narrative is still not enough to improve their standing with the people, because in the end, people want the government to focus on things that matter the most to them, which is their welfare.”