Letter to editor
WHEN talking about reforms, it should begin with the political parties. Unless reforms begin with the political parties, we will end up with people who are unlikely to carry out reforms after given the portfolio as either state EXCO or ministers.
A good example is in the way how the local government in Selangor has been left to rot over the years since 2008.
While their counterparts in Penang have done a good job, the delivery of services at the local government level in Selangor is still below par. Selangor under Pakatan Harapan (PH) was reasonably good in the first two terms as the proverbial saying goes, ‘a new broom sweeps clean’
Subsequently, the rot started during the second half of Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s term as Menteri Besar and unfortunately, the situation is just getting worse under current MB Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
The change of the state EXCO in charge of the local government is just a change of name but there are no reforms introduced to the third tier of government.
The basic flaw
The basic flaw that I observe in our political parties is that only the senior people are given cabinet or state EXCO positions at the expense of the more qualified people.
Selection of cabinet or state EXCO members are not based on the quality of debates that they bring to the Parliament or state assembly or engagement with the local constituents.
While Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing and Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Meng may be at odds with the UMNO Youth chief over the politics of bak kut teh and the UNESCO heritage status for 10 Chinese New Villages respectively, Dr Akmal Salleh is in fact a people-friendly and down-to-earth state assemblyman.
A number of his actions highlighted on TikTok show that he does not exhibit any racist tendencies except that he may have some biases that need to be corrected due to misinformation.
Judging from the comments made by former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, the Merlimau state assemblyman, is known to be strongly opinionated.
Dr Akmal appears to also have a tiff with even Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi who is a member of the unity government.
Dr Akmal is the Melaka state exco for rural development, agriculture and food security probably because of his position as UMNO Youth chief. He may have a soft spot for people of different races in his own constituency but he has yet to learn that in politics, one needs to build not burn more bridges.
But, hasn’t UMNO Youth always produced some controversial leaders who are unable to look beyond their own interests for the good of the nation. If he does not amend his ways, he may someday end up as another Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when dealing with leaders of other nations.
Without being demeaning to Dr Akmal or UMNO Youth, both former state exco Ng Sze Han and the current EXCO in the same portfolio, Ng Suee Lim, also fill the state exco positions in- charge of local government because of their seniority in DAP Selangor rather than their ability to manage their portfolio.
Basis for selection of best candidates
Moving forward, political parties have to be reformed in order to allow the best candidates to be picked to helm ministries and state exco portfolios.
Often, those whom voters think are good get sidelined. For example, PKR lawmaker Wong Chen’s speech on the weakening ringgit recently caught my attention.
Although trained as a lawyer, he has provided a few good solutions that provide a good basis for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to act on the current status of the weakening ringgit.
Due to popular demand, Wong has decided to translate his speech on reforms and currency, to English and has since been uploaded on his Facebook page.
To date, I have yet to come across any more comprehensive explanation about the currency than what Wong has presented in parliament.
What we want in the country are lawmakers who are capable of analysing problems and come out with a practical and comprehensive solution.
After sharing Wong’s video with friends, political commentator Imraz Ikhbal sent me a link to another speech in parliament by Howard Lee Chuan How.
Like Wong Chen, the DAP Ipoh Timor MP comes across as another non-Malay who is articulate in the delivery of his speech in Malay. Imraz described Lee as “another minister material, super polished.”
Like Wong, Lee has also provided his recommendations of what the Madani government can do. This is what we expect to hear from our elected representatives.
To gain respect of the people as “Yang Berhormat”, lawmakers must be able to come out with better solutions if they do not like what these two lawmakers proposed.
What we see instead are lawmakers such as this Bersatu Langkawi MP Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) comrade Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (from PAS) have both become so obsessed with the bak kut teh.
They should ask a Hokkien speaking person the meaning of ‘bak.’ Although traditionally, this cuisine which originated from Klang has been associated with pork, the word ‘bak’ simply means ‘meat’; and the modern version of the local cuisine can come in the form of chicken (hence, chick-kut-teh) or beef or mutton or even in the vegan version.
The question of halal or not should no longer be raised. – March 9, 2024
Stephen Ng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: ASEAN News Today
