Now just one year after Anwar Ibrahim took over as Prime Minister, expectations have fallen.
Should we be thankful that this “unity government” has not collapsed? Yes, we are relatively stable, with no serious unrest on the streets. We have RM1.5tn federal government debt but we are not bankrupt. Food prices have crept up, but we have no hyperinflation. The economy seems steady, but the ringgit has weakened considerably.
The PM’s performance rating plunged from 68% last December to 50% in October, according to the Merdeka Center. The government’s approval rating has also fallen from 54% last December to 48% in October. About 60% feel the country is going the wrong way, with 56% citing economic issues.
Why are so many people feeling financially squeezed? One clue is the labour share of national income has dropped from 37.4% in 2020 to 32.4% in 2022. Compare this with the labour share of over 40% or even 50% in many developed nations. What this means is that many workers in Malaysia are simply not getting a fair share of the national income. Just look the GLCs, their top executives are paid in the millions while the ordinary folks earn a pittance. Shareholders, namely the Government also gets huge dividends. An example is Petronas!
One way out to ease the plight of many households is by introducing a universal pension scheme for those without pensions. That’s financed by new taxes!
The Anwar administration has to improve our hospitals – it must raise government spending on the public healthcare system from about 2% of GDP to 4-5%. Reduce the queues and long waiting times at these hospitals. Hire more specialists and doctors to spread out the workload. The other areas include:
• Road re-surfacing and repairs from KK to KL;
• Small infrastructure projects; and
• Provide greater support to farmers and fishermen
For this to happen, the government has to widen its revenue base and its tax collection to strengthen the social security net. It could save some RM20-30bn a year by “working on” corruption, ‘leaks’ and rent-seeking. More funds could be raised by imposing excess profit tax on sectors like banking or energy. What about Tobin like tax on foreign exchange transactions?
The government has to reform the education system to raise the quality of national schools. It must know by now the reasons why ethnic minorities have moved to private or vernacular schools.
The good news is that there is no more mandatory death penalty. Several reforms appear also to be underway, but the pace could be better:
• Separation of the public prosecutor’s role from the attorney general
• A political funding act to be passed by Parliament
Progress has been made with an Independent Police Conduct Commission, but this lacks effective bite. The government must look at what the 2004 Royal Commission on the police really intended.
The unfulfilled promises include:
• The vetting of key public appointments process by a special parliamentary committee – for the chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, election commissioners, public prosecutor, etc
• The introduction of a parliamentary services act
• The introduction of a government procurement act
• The devolution of powers
• A 10-year term limit for the prime minister and chief ministers
• A fixed-parliamentary term
• A review to correct the severe malapportionment of constituencies
Then there are a couple of key pledges that have been broken:
• Equal constituency funds for all MPs
• Repeal of repressive laws such as the Sedition Act, Sosma, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act
• Cost of living is in outer space at the moment because we have failed to tackle imported inflation and exchange rates.
The evictions of the Kanthan farmers in Perak and the reclamation in Penang that will degrade fishing waters are serious disappointments. We are simply not doing enough to boost the country’s food security. Use AI or technology to improve output.
More needs to be done on public transportation. Prasarana is an inefficient, black-hole for Government finances. It doesn’t take a genius to break this monolith.
And the PM is keen on foreign issues – from Palestine, Hamas to Turkey. Instead of gallivanting overseas for investments, please get the MITI Minister to work harder.
The pace of reforms has been too slow for many. Granted, it is only the first year and the PM has to balance the interests of his multi-coalition government. Bersih has given the government a score of just 22% in fulfilling pre-election promises.
Work on the People’s Agenda, which over 50 civil society groups have endorsed instead of pandering to PAS and Bersatu. Have some courage and spine to stand-up for the right things instead of trying to look good to the audience you are addressing.
Source: https://twitter.com
Reference:
Anwar’s first anniversary as PM: Fix the economy and hasten reforms, Anil Netto, Aliran, 24 November 2023
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