Looking back, moving forward
IN this historic moment for Malaysia, it is truly a time to celebrate and call ourselves proud Malaysians. Reputable international media BBC News said “it’s hard not to feel enthused by seeing this democracy in action” while the Wall Street Journal said “the result cast Malaysia in contrast with much of the rest of Southeast Asia, where fragile democracies have struggled or one-party rule has persisted.”
Indeed, democracy is well and truly alive and the will of Malaysians is crystal clear.
Nevertheless, allow me to put on another hat and play devil’s advocate here.
1. Two main points from Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto are abolishing the much-hated goods and services tax (GST) and reintroduction of the fuel subsidy. This will seriously impair fiscal consolidation in Malaysia without a reasonable means of new revenue generation by the incoming government. Malaysia has one of the highest levels of public debt in the region at 54% of GDP. Fitch Ratings has highlighted “policy slippage leading to deterioration in fiscal discipline and higher government debt or deficits as a negative rating sensitivity” while S&P Global warned that policy uncertainty could “lead to some portfolio adjustments on the part of some investors, especially many foreign investors with exposures to Malaysia’s sizeable and open financial markets.” Rerating by credit agencies and deterioration of investor confidence would lead to increased borrowing costs imposed on Malaysia.
2. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s vow to restore the rule of law on Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s scandal-plagued administration is admirable. However, it should not be forgotten that several high-ranking Pakatan leaders including Lim Guan Eng (corruption) and Rafizi Ramli (leaking classified information) have their own problems with law enforcement.
On a more minute scale, former Batu MP Tian Chua’s fine with the court cost him his seat and we are left with a law student as a representative. Are we blaming all these on political motivation?
Najib in his recent press conference pointed to Barisan Nasional’s track record, claiming his government had tried its best to ensure people’s quality of life and the future of the next genera- tion. This is true to a certain extent.
Hence, I would urge my fellow Malaysians to drop all prejudice on Barisan moving forward. Remember, this election was lost not by the coalition’s shortcomings but on the scandal-plagued and huge ego of certain leaders within Barisan.
As such, I plead with Barisan to restart with a clean slate and the rakyat to ensure that Barisan politicians get all the support they need. Then and only then will we have an effective opposition as a check and balance for the Pakatan government.
The best thing about a change of government is that we can hold the new one to higher levels of accountability. It remains to be seen if the new government can carry out all of its promises both politically and economically.
Fundamentally, Malaysians can only claim true victory with the accomplishment of basic rights like freedom of the press, equality and justice. Until then, cries of “Reformasi” and “Ubah!” will still ring loud.
BRYAN LOO Ipoh