Chandra
Muzaffar
There
is little sense in grading a new government on its performance in its first 100
days in office especially if it has just replaced the world’s longest running
coalition in power which had degenerated into a notorious kleptocracy in its
last phase.
The
Pakatan Harapan itself had set the stage for this evaluation by pledging to
fulfil 10 promises within 100 days in its Election Manifesto. The 100 days idea
is nothing more than a political fad that originated with the Franklin
Roosevelt presidency in the United States of America. It is totally
inappropriate in our context when the momentous change that occurred on the 9th
of May and the monumental challenges that have unfolded since then require an
appraisal that is continuous and comprehensive.
It
is that sort of appraisal that society should provide as feedback to the PH
government. It should be non-partisan and as fair and unbiased as possible. The aim would be to encourage the positive dimensions
in the PH’s governance and to caution against negative aspects of its
performance.
Since
corruption and abuse of power associated with the previous Barisan Nasional
government was a major factor in its downfall, the PH leadership is doing the
right thing in exposing the terrible wrongdoings related to the 1MDB scandal
and other financial shenanigans. Understandably, the focus has been upon the
former Prime Minister, Dato Sri Mohd Najib Razak and upon the handbags,
jewelleries and other expensive acquisitions of his wife, Datin Sri Rosmah
Mansor. In the course of these revelations, the Malaysian public has become
acutely aware of the massive debts that the government had accumulated in
recent years. In order to reduce these debts, mammoth projects undertaken with
Chinese companies and the Singapore government have had to be cancelled or
postponed.
For
the people, especially those who were once unquestioningly loyal to Najib, the
realisation that a leader that they revered had betrayed their well-being could
be a traumatic experience. Nonetheless, one hopes that coming to grips with the
truth in this painful manner will, at the collective level, lead to a catharsis
--- a catharsis of the Malaysian soul that will fortify us, all of us, against
the scourge of corruption.
Apart
from baring the ugly face of corruption and its consequences, the PH government
has also sought to address some of the woes of the people as expressed during
the election campaign. It has abolished the unpopular Goods and Services Tax
(GST) ; stabilised the price of petrol and introduced targeted petrol subsidies
; eliminated unnecessary debts imposed upon Felda settlers; and postponed the
repayment of PTPTN loans for graduates whose salaries are below RM 4000 per
month.
The
government has also acted against two institutions related directly or indirectly
to national unity. It has abolished the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) which many felt did
not conduce towards the promotion of better ethnic relations. And it has also
dismantled the National Service Programme which earlier studies had shown made
very limited contribution to the integration of young adults.
While
these are among the many positive measures, one should not ignore the gross
errors and outright fumbles committed by the new government and entities
associated with it. I shall highlight
just one. For a short while in July, Malaysia found itself in an embarrassing
situation with two Chief Justices. It arose partly because in hastening a
transition of authority in the Judiciary, respect for the independence and
integrity of the institution was set aside.
In spite of this
and other flaws, the PH government continues to enjoy the trust and confidence
of the vast majority of the people as reflected in a number of surveys. It is
perceived as sincere in its endeavour to rectify the shortcomings of the
previous government. Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s pivotal role in
ousting Najib and the commitment displayed by this 93 year-old leader in planning and executing important changes since the 9th of May, explain
in part the high level of public trust in the government of the day.
Nonetheless,
Tun and his government will be facing monumental challenges in the days ahead.
Even in combating corruption --- the first of seven challenges --- it has yet
to present to Parliament a Bill to regulate political financing and to make
electoral funding transparent. The declaration of the assets and liabilities of
Ministers and Deputy Ministers at the federal level to the public through the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is awaiting implementation. Other proposals on barring close relatives of
power-holders from bidding for Federal or state government contracts and
projects or on minimising and eliminating
the role of “middle-men” and proxies in procurement exercises
involving Federal and state entities
have not been pursued with vigour.
Strengthening
democracy has been largely about rescinding laws such as the Sedition Act, and
Sosma, among others. But even this remains an unfulfilled promise. However,
enhancing human rights must mean more than rescinding authoritarian laws. Some of the vile and vicious excesses of the
social media have convinced a lot of human rights advocates of the importance
of integrating rights with responsibilities. A more profound commitment to
responsibilities at all levels could help develop a deeper attachment to the
principle of Amanah (Trust) which in turn will reinforce the spiritual-moral
foundation of life and society.
An
equally crucial challenge confronting the PH government is the situation of the
relatively poor and disadvantaged. Increasing and equalising the minimum wage
nationally is one of the prominent PH pledges. The government is also very much
aware of why improving the quality of public housing, public education, public
health-care, public transportation, and public amenities in general will impact
positively upon the life of the poor. But relative deprivation in a society
like ours cannot be overcome unless one also regulates the huge salaries,
bonuses and perks that the affluent minority regard as their privilege. There
is no sign to suggest that the PH is moving in that direction in a concerted
manner.
A
fourth fundamental challenge revolves around ethnic relations. Remarks and
demands made within and without the PH by different individuals and parties in
the first 100 days reveal ethnic and religious fault lines that the coalition
has not dealt with as a grouping. For instance, the uneasiness among some
Malays caused by certain senior government appointments indicates not only a lack
of appreciation of the Constitution but also points to a superficial
understanding of what citizenship in a modern society entails. Similarly,
grossly inaccurate views about the ethnicity of ancient communities in the
region, the flow of peoples within Nusantara and the reality of colonial
migration and its adverse impact upon contemporary ethnic relations, shows how
much ignorance prevails even among top political leaders in PH. Indeed, one
gets the impression that the PH has not really imbued its leadership and
membership with knowledge and understanding of how the Malaysian nation-state
evolved essentially from Malay Sultanates shaped by the colonial experience and
the non-Malay presence. Without such understanding, it will be difficult to
navigate ethnic relations in the country.
PH
has also got to deal with the rising crescendo of calls for greater autonomy
from the citizens of Sarawak and Sabah. Enforcing the Malaysia Agreement of
1963 is a PH promise though very little appears to have been done in concrete
terms. Genuine autonomy for the two states will require a re-appraisal of the
federal structure itself.
Forging
a foreign policy of dignity that safeguards Malaysia’s independence and
sovereignty has become a much greater challenge today than it was when Mahathir
first became Prime Minister in 1981. The United States’ negative response to
the rise of China in recent decades has transformed ASEAN into a potential
cockpit of conflict. To minimise tension and to avert serious friction, Malaysia
together with its ASEAN neighbours will have to engage not just the US and
China but also other states in Asia such as Japan, the Koreas, India and
Pakistan in constructive dialogue.
Finally,
in order to handle all these challenges, a seventh challenge centred upon
Pakatan Harapan itself. While we acknowledge that it is a new coalition of four
parties, we realise that because it is in power and forced to grapple with
monumental challenges, it has no choice but to demonstrate a high degree of
cohesion and unity. On many issues of governance it has already achieved an
appreciable measure of consensus. However, the same cannot be said for issues
of identity related to ethnicity and religion. For coalitions linked to ethnic
and religious communities, directly or indirectly, the politics of identity
would be as critical as the ethics of governance.
To
evolve a viable understanding on the politics of identity, PH’s leading
personalities from all the parties will have a decisive role to play. One hopes
that heart-to-heart communication among them will lead to greater empathy
across ethnic and religious boundaries. It is such empathy --- and such empathy
alone ---that will sustain PH in the years to come
Dr.
Chandra Muzaffar is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan Perpaduan
Malaysia.
Petaling
Jaya.
20
August 2018.
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