Letter to Editor
SINCE registering as a voter at the age of 25, my friends and I were focused on one thing – to dethrone UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) and shape a better future for us and our future generations.
For years, we remained focused on this and finally at the age of 48 in 2018, this became a reality.
However, that was short-lived and we thought we had lost our only chance and believed we would never ever have the opportunity to oust UMNO again.
However, Lady Luck was on our side during the 15th General Election (GE15) last year when UMNO was almost wiped out following the general election.
None of us in our wildest dreams would have imagined that Pakatan Harapan (PH) which we all had placed so much hope in would extend their hand to UMNO and jump into bed together.
As if this was not shocking enough, they even appointed Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – someone who is riddled with corruption charges whose cases are still pending in court – as the deputy prime minister.
To many of us, this seemed nothing more than an act of sheer desperation by someone who would do anything just to become Prime Minister (PM).
Fine, all said and done, against all odds and against the wishes of many, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim finally became PM – something he had wanted for years.
Back then, the Reformasi dream was real and we all hoped in it for a better future. We were looking for much greater things now that Anwar was finally at the helm.
However, seven months have passed since he became the premier and it is time to ask ourselves what has been achieved.
It was all about Reformasi but seriously, where is the reform? To many of us, the government still seems to be on shaky ground and Anwar’s sole focus is to cling on to power.
There is no political stability at all and at any time, there could be a shift in power, again. Anwar’s sole grasp on power rests on his Aces with UMNO and everyone knows that is a party not to be trusted.
For many of us, we cannot still accept UMNO with the sentiments being stronger with the Chinese and even Indians.
Anwar’s entire focus is on playing musical chairs with UMNO to ensure he stays in power. One cannot pay attention to other pressing matters if his concentration is centred elsewhere.
For us laymen, we have witnessed no positive changes in our lives – inflation rates continue to spiral and the ringgit is still on its downward trend.
There are no strong economic and financial strategies in place and the overall situation in the country is still deteriorating.
The prices of daily essentials continue to rise while the government continues to flip-flop on its focus, further causing confusion and distrust among investors.
This is the reality of things – sadly many of my friends and colleagues have been forced to mortgage their assets and sell their land in order to survive.
They were so financially stricken that they had no choice. Anwar has since travelled all over the place and claims he has drawn investments but to the naked eye, there is nothing. The rakyat are still suffering and many are losing all hope. – July 18, 2023
Lim Soo Pheng
Kulim, Kedah
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
