DISILLUSIONED Malaysians have made their frustrations known to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim even after the latter has justified that any promised reforms by the government must be implemented carefully to ensure the people are prepared to embrace the changes.
Speaking at the PKR’s 25th anniversary special convention at the Ideal Convention Centre (IDCC) in Shah Alam yesterday (April 21), the party’s president and Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said the government should not be hasty in implementing reforms as it needs to consider the repercussions of the changes that are made.
For this, Anwar who is also the Finance Minister alluded to the great French Revolution which not only failed to uplift the living standard of peasants in France but their living condition further deteriorated 10 years after the revolution because of the hastiness of its leaders to implement reforms.
“I have never compromised on the struggle for reform which is the identity of PKR even though it is on-going. Currently, Malaysia already has a judicial and enforcement body that is free from political interference,” he later penned on his Facebook page.
“The country’s fiscal reforms are also being rapidly implemented with national policies that have clearly attracted high-value investments to the point that Malaysia managed to record the highest amount of approved investment in the country’s history of RM329.5 bil last year.”
While PKR delegates might agree with their leader, majority of Malaysians vented their dismay on various social media platforms given the numerous reforms outlined in the PH election manifesto have not been visible to the naked eyes since PMX assumed power in the aftermath of the 15th General Election (GE15) on Nov 19, 2022.
Here’s a sample of some of the darndest comments:
“Danger lurking”
Ordinary Malaysians aside, reforms NGO Projek SAMA has expressed concerns that the unity government will drive away fence-sitters if it fails to deliver on its promised reforms before the GE16 slated for February 2028.
Its spokesman Thomas Fann contended that the people have started to become disheartened over the lack of substantial legislative reforms more than a year since PH which is helmed by Anwar wrested control of Putrajaya.
The former BERSIH (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) chairman said frustration – especially among PH supporters – would possibly cause them to sit out GE16 or even back extremist leaders offering populist promises.
“If they don’t deliver (on the promised reforms) before the next national polls, people will start to think that the current government is no different from the previous governments,” Free Malaysia Today (FMT) cited Fann as saying after the official launch of Projek SAMA in Petaling Jaya on Saturday (April 20).
“It’s going to be a real danger to the country if the government doesn’t start delivering on its (promised) reforms.”
A more hard-hitting United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council chairman Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy ticked off Anwar – often acclaimed as the “father of reforms” – as his political regime is no different from earlier regimes that sought political sustenance on the basis of race and religion.
“The present politics is not about undertaking reforms that were promised when in opposition but how the coalition can stay in power. In other words, political expediency and longevity seem to be the current priorities of the so-called reform government,” berated the former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II.
“The Madani government that was predicated on reforms is sad reminder that there is anything but reforms. How can we have reforms if the government in power is dependent on the racial and religious divisions to see it politically through?” – April 22, 2024
Main image credit: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook
