I THINK I need to state the obvious here. If DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo believes the four reforms that he wants the Madani government to realise by end-2026 will restore DAP’s support for Pakatan Harapan (PH), I can tell him he is hallucinating.
In a nutshell, the Digital Minister wants Putrajaya (i) to separate the roles of Attorney-General (AG) and public prosecutor; (ii) set term limits for the Prime Minister; and amend (iii) the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) and (iv) the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012
PH has been talking about these four issues over the past three years. Even if they pass them before end-2026, there will be no joy among PH supporters. Had they been passed two years ago, PH supporters would have celebrated. But NOT NOW. It is simply too late.
Let me tell Rocket the truth. Here are the key reforms that PH supporters and the broader public (including a significant portion of Malay voters) actually want to see:
Reform #1: Do something about corruption: It is so bad now. Look at the Immigration and Royal Malaysian Customs Departments especially at ports of entry.
A pilot can walk past with an entire bag of drugs, tourists from selected countries are being scammed and illegal workers can obtain permits on arrival. This has been going on for years. People like me thought PH would act once in power. Instead, it is worse now.
Reform #2: Do something about the police and security agencies: Many people, including me, thought the massive publicity surrounding the Raymond Koh (and three others) case as well as that of Teoh Beng Hock would force the deep state to retreat further into the shadows.
Boy, was I wrong. The Pamela Ling case occurred under PH.
How can people simply disappear in Malaysia in the 21st century? The police cannot solve these cases. If the police cannot solve them, what is the obvious conclusion about who is behind the disappearances? Do you need a brain surgeon to tell you?
Reform #3: Hold some elites accountable. Look at Tabung Haji. All my professional friends say only a cartel operating at the highest political level could have done this.
It was never just one big fish, it had to be a group of them. TH was such an iconic institution yet billions were misspent. Do you think a major international accounting firm would dare to undertake “creative accounting” if they knew only small fishes were involved?
Which political party has both the experience and the political power to pull this off? Again, it does not take a genius to figure it out. Will they be held accountable? Of course not.
Instead of running scared now that they have been exposed, their paid cybertroopers are spinning the story that it was the “Nons” who initiated the scam.
As part of the government, do you think they will allow the federal cabinet to dig deeper and bring the real big fish to justice?
I will be kind here: at most one big fish (and a lot of TH executives) will pay the price while the other big fish walk free. But probably cannot touch them because this is a Malay institution. “Nons must not speak on this issue … It’s a Malay Muslim thing.” Sound familiar?
Reform #4: Pass a Racial Harmony law and get the police/AG to stop playing double standards with hate speech: This would bring massive support from the Indian community. You might even secure 90% of the Hindu vote.
Victory formula
These are the four immediate issues you must address if you want a fighting chance at winning GE16 (16th General Election) If you do what Gobind wants, all senior ministers might as well start buying the retirement home now.
Very few Malaysians on the street care about the four issues he is pushing. They really don’t. Only the noisy NGOs and upper-class Malaysians care about them.
Don’t say I did not warn you. I know Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will not do anything about the four issues I have identified here.
But I thought DAP wanted to be re-elected. From the news reports, it seems that – very much like PMX – you are now hanging out with the “Prof Solehah” crowd, believing in an alternative universe.
Good luck Gobind. I’ve always like you. I saw you as a steady hand in DAP and was glad when you were appointed chairman and will always push Malaysia back to the middle ground.
Please prove me right. Otherwise, see you at the kopitiam without your bodyguards sometime next year. I will take a selfie with you, okay? = Aug 18, 2026
Renowned political commentator Prof James Chin was also the inaugural director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania. His above view was a re-hash from his latest Facebook post.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Images credit: Gobind Singh Deo/Facebook
