IN retrospect, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had only a short lifespan of 22 months in power yet that itself outlasted the 17-month tenure of Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who along with 11 PKR defectors led by the party’s deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali had orchestrated the so-called “Sheraton Move” which led to the eventual collapse of the PH administration.
And to be more cynical about it, the ’leftist’ Finance Twitter portal highlighted that Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob – Muhyiddin’s successor who took over his Perikatan Nasional (PN) legacy in tandem with UMNO and PAS – fared even worse “when he was forced by (UMNO) party chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to dissolve the Parliament, paving the way for the 15th General Election (GE15) after just 14 months in power.
“For the first time in history, Malaysia had three Prime Ministers (PM) in about four years – two of them were backdoor premiers (Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri),” observed the portal.
“The 31 months under the backdoor PN and BN regime were worse than the 22-month old PH government. However, the biggest mistake of PH was its failure to ‘communicate’ after taking over the government, allowing not only UMNO crooks and PAS radicals to play race and religion cards but also spread fake news about PH.”
This has prompted Finance Twitter to furnish the list of “at least 22 achievements” which PH has failed to communicate:
Achievement 1: Abolishment of 6% GST
During its four years, the highly unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected about RM135 bil (2015: RM27 bil; 2016: RM43 bil; 2017: RM44 bil; 2018: RM21 bil). When it was first introduced, ex-PM Najib falsely claimed that the GST would tax the rich and reward the poor.
Achievement 2: Refund outstanding GST
After PH took over the Government, it returned RM19.39 bil of outstanding GST as of May 31, 2018 – which apparently “went missing from government coffers” (although denied by ex-PM Najib) – to their rightful owners.
Achievement 3: Stabilising petrol price
Petrol price for RON95 which was fixed at a ceiling price of RM2.20/litre in May 2018 was later lowered to RM2.08/litre in February 2019 during the PH administration without which the people would suffer today as a result of Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Achievement 4: Reducing broadband internet prices
The country’s fixed broadband packages increased from 10 Mbps to 30 Mbps while their prices dropped from RM130 to RM79 per month. Malaysia was also one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to start the groundwork on 5G, paving the way to usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).
Achievement 5: Unlimited travel pass to reduce cost of living
In December 2018, the PH government officially launched the unlimited travel pass (My100 and My50) in a move to reduce the cost of living for the people as part of its GE14 promise. The cashless travel pass reduces the travelling cost of commuters – with those staying in Kajang but working at KLCC for example – by at least RM180/month.
Achievement 6: Reducing toll charges of PLUS Expressway
Despite lopsided concession agreements, PH managed to lower PLUS toll prices by 18%. During BN regime in over 60 years, it had never reduced toll prices without compensating toll operators.
Achievement 7: Abolish blacklisting policy affecting 433,000 PTPTN borrowers
The names of 429,945 National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan defaulters were removed from the Immigration Department’s blacklist ever since PH took over. The “whitening” process of the borrowers’ names was completed in June 8, 2018. Subsequently, PTPTN had in July 2018 allowed borrowers with salaries below RM4,000/month to defer their study loan repayment.
Achievement 8: Rescue FELDA & Tabung Haji
The PH government allocated RM6.3 bil to bail out FELDA and another RM17.8 bil on a restructuring plan for Lembaga Tabung Haji. The money could be used to build 201,870 homes for poor families (based on RM118,888/home under the pr1ma housing scheme).
Achievement 9: Allocation for vernacular schools
The PH’s Budget 2019 saw allocations of RM50 mil each for Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools. In addition, RM15 mil was set aside for Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK) and RM12 mil for Chinese private secondary schools.
Achievement 10: EPF contribution for housewife (i-Suri)
As part of the PH government’s financial aid for housewives, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has credited payment totalling RM9.51 mil to the accounts of Caruman Sukarela i-Suri members for 2018. The first phase involved RM5 minimum monthly deposit by i-Suri members that is then matched by a RM40 contribution from the government.
Achievement 11: Reduce cabinet size
To increase efficiency and save cost, there were only 55 posts in the PH Cabinet. However, during ex-PM Muhyiddin’s tenure, the Cabinet ballooned to 73 posts, including four special envoys with ministerial rank – the most bloated Cabinet ever.
Achievement 12: Prosecute Najib and UMNO crooks
For the first time in Malaysia’s history, a powerful former PM in Najib was arrested, charged and eventually sent to 12 years in prison for corruption. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, has also been found guilty and is appealing her conviction.
Achievement 13: Improve CPI (Corruption Perception Index)
In line with the PH government’s initiative to combat corruption, Malaysia moved up 10 spots to the 51st position among 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2019. However, the CPI 2021 plunged two years consecutively to rank 62nd in the global rankings after PN and BN seized power.
Achievement 14: Reduce inflation by 84%
The average inflation rate under PH government in June-October 2018 recorded 0.56% compared to 3.6% under BN government in June-October 2017 – an improvement of 84%. The low inflation was achieved thanks primarily to the scrapping of GST and fixing the petrol price.
Achievement 15: Stable and stronger ringgit
During PH’s 22 months in power, the ringgit was trading between RM3.90 and RM4.20 to US$1. However, during the 31 months of PN/BN administration, the local currency plunged to RM4.74 to the greenback – its lowest value since the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis and on its way to a historical low of RM4.80 and beyond.
Achievement 16: Reduce special lottery draws to 8 from 22
The PH government successfully reduced special lottery draws for 4D forecast operators to just eight a year from 22 previously only for the same Bersatu-UMNO-PAS government to immediately restore the special draws to 22 after they snatched power.
Achievement 17: Smoking ban in eateries
In October 2018, the PH government decided to ban smoking in all eateries, including open-air hawker centres beginning Jan 1, 2019 despite objections from smokers and restaurant operators.
Achievement 18: Free healthcare via Skim Peduli Kesihatan
Taking the cue from the Selangor state government funded “Skim Peduli Sihat (SPS)” initiative in 2017 to provide healthcare coverage to the B40 household income class, the PH government introduced “Skim Peduli Kesihatan” (PeKA B40) on April 15, 2019 to provide free health screening, medical device up to RM20,000 and RM500 transport allowance to B40 group. The programme had benefited over 454,000 people by Sept 2021.
Achievement 19: Free pneumococcal vaccination for kid
In Budget 2020, an allocation of RM60 mil was set aside to provide free pneumococcal vaccination for all children under the age of two. Pneumococcus is the most common cause of bloodstream infections, pneumonia, meningitis, and middle ear infections. The previous BN government refused to fund the vaccination due to its high cost.
Achievement 20: Establishing Syarie Legal Profession Bill
The Syarie Legal Profession (Federal Territories) Bill 2019 was finally passed in July 2019. It was aimed at establishing the Syarie Legal Profession Qualifying Board, Syariah Lawyers’ Body and the Federal Territories Syarie Lawyers Council to ensure professional practices, behaviour and code of conduct.
Achievement 21: Establishing special Muslim marriage court
A special marriages “hadhanah” (child custody) and “nafkah” (maintenance) court which have the authority to confiscate the property of a man who has failed to provide for his ex-wife was set up in 2019 under the PH government. The special Muslim court was a reflection of the commitment by PH to protect the rights of women.
Achievement 22: e-wallet initiative
While UMNO hardcore supporters constantly laugh at the paltry RM30 given via e-wallet by the PH government to 15 million Malaysians beginning January 2020, the initiative had resulted in a shift in users going cashless – an important development that would prove useful during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the digital culture has seen a transition towards a cashless community. – Nov 6, 2022
