THE stance of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition to win the 15th General Election (GE15) first then only “select a federal government” is both dangerous and detrimental to the largest state in Malaysia considering that the populace is clueless as to what type of federal government they should be voting for.
Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen has expressed concern that if GPS’ intention is merely about making out the numbers to form the government with UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) or the Perikatan Nasional (PN), then the likely outcome is “stability of incompetency” which will end up with Sarawakians suffering.
“While stability is one of the considerations for investors whether domestic or international, what is even more important is competency, good governance and effective policies,” Yii who is also the national DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief pointed out.
“How would investors have confidence if the country is known to be run by kleptocrats and leaders who are inefficient to address issues facing the country?”
Since the “Sheraton Move” defection which led to PN and then UMNO/BN running the country, Yii said not only is Malaysia’s international Corruption Perception Index (CPI) getting worst, but the government of the day had little idea how to handle the then COVID-19 pandemic or are even incompetent in handling the current state of economic crisis.
“Malaysia had the highest death per capita in Asia due to COVID-19 and all these could have been avoided if there were stronger and more evidence-based leadership in government at that time,” he recalled.
“On top of that, the UMNO/PN led government imposed multiple ineffective lockdown which hurt the pockets of people. Instead of helping them through these tough times, it forced the people to dig into their own Employee Provident Fund (EPF) savings which will only put their future in jeopardy.”
That the UMNO/PN government does not seem to have a long-term strategy to help the rakyat overcome economic hardship is testament that the GPS narrative of “choosing merely stability” is flawed or not beneficial to Sarawak.
“If the choice is (potentially) a corrupt government, how can it be good for Sarawak? If the choice is (potentially) a racist and extreme government, how can it be good for Sarawak?” asked Yii.
“If the choice is (potentially) an incompetent government, how can it be good for Sarawak? What is good for Sarawak is a government built on good governance, anti-corruption, competent leaders and a recognition of the multi-cultural and pluralistic society that PH is fighting for,” he added. – Nov 11, 2022
Main pic credit: Astro Awani
