Excited to be part of history

IT’S one thing to be a vocal opposition and call on the government to change its wanton ways, but it’s quite another when you find yourself part of the administration.

PKR’s Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil is excited to find himself playing a role in the first administration in our history that isn’t led by Umno.

As a government backbencher and first-term MP, what does he make of the Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

“Some of the members are new, some we know have been around. So there is a mix of new blood and experienced politicians. I think this kind of mix is quite healthy. We’ve got five women ministers and at least four young ministers and deputy ministers. We see a lot more emphasis on experience, and a correlation between profession and the ministry. For example, the Health Minister is a toxicologist, the Energy, Science and Technology Minister is a chemical engineer like myself, the Youth and Sports Minister is young and sporty!”

“I think this is a good start but what is important is that the ministers get down immediately to a major clean-up in their ministries, like Datuk Seri Azmin Ali announcing that there will be a forensic audit of Felda.

“We have also seen Gobind Singh Deo saying that there will be audit on two funds totalling some RM9bil. It feels like every minister needs to make sure that whatever transgressions that have happened and the profligate ways of the previous administration are halted.”

“My fervent wish beyond the Cabinet itself is to see the institutional reforms that we always been fighting for, more public engagement when it comes to putting Bills through the House. We need a more transparent administration and a more accountable law-making process.

Fahmi cites the Nordic social democratic model as one that Malaysia can emulate in its effort to reduce income inequality in Malaysia.

“Right now people are concerned about questions of cost of living, jobs, economy, not next year but tomorrow. Our cost of living is not only dependent on GST but also the currency, the value of the ringgit. And the value of the ringgit is also a reflection of the international community’s perception of the administration of the country.”

“Backbenchers and also members of the opposition need to play an important part to make sure that parliament does not become a rubber stamp institution. That we make sure that we hold the executive in check and to make sure that every single ringgit that is spent is well spent.”

After the initial euphoria over a Pakatan Harapan victory, the reality set it that supporters of Pribumi and PKR have different expectations in terms of the handover of power between Dr M and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Fahmi believes his coa- lition can manage the transition smoothly.

“I think there are senior enough politicians cognisant of the fact that we have a very clear mandate of the people and that we should not defy the will of the people.

“We made it very clear from the announcement on Jan 7, 2018 that Dr M was announced as the seventh PM candidate with Datuk Seri Wan Azizah as deputy PM, that we were going to proceed with reforms and that Anwar is going to be the eighth PM.”

Fahmi dismissed speculation that Azmin might be groomed by Mahathir to supplant Anwar as the next PM.

“I think Azmin is someone full of potential and seen by many to be a leader. At the same time there has been a very open public agreement between Dr M and Azmin and all the parties. The leaders of all four parties signed this document. So there is no question about the immediate succession. I think it is important to expose a lot of our leaders now to the reins of federal administration and it is important for someone like Azmin who has been administering a state to look at the overall administration of our economy.”

As for the issue of Umno MPs seeking to jump parties and join Pribumi and destabilise the ruling coalition, Fahmi called for a law that requires a fresh mandate should a candidate wish to party-hop.

“I think individual MPs could be given the option. We have to balance public interest with the financial implication of a policy like that. At the same time I think it is very important that Umno understands the value of being in opposition, because we must never go back to the way Umno treated the opposition before. Hopefully, we can have a change of government every so often without political parties imploding, collapsing and disintegrating.”

Looking at the staying power of politicians like Mahathir, Anwar, Kit Siang and Hadi, one wonders if there is a need for Malaysians to trust a younger generation of leaders with power?

Fahmi concurs “Yes, I think so. For example in Lembah Pantai 37% of voters are below the age of 40. And going forward the next five years we are going to see more and more younger people, even though Malaysia in general will be trending towards being an ageing society. In an urban setting, particularly, you are going to see an increase of the number of young people, and the concerns of the younger members of the electorate would be more resonant to what I imagine to be younger lawmakers.

“But it is not about age as much as it is about ability; that’s why someone like Tun Dr M can still find relevance with the young, because of his uncanny ability to embrace and adapt to this new electorate. For politicians it is about understanding what the people want and being able to deliver on these promises.”