MP SPEAKS | PM's 90pct cabinet score diminishes Keluarga M'sia's credibility

MP SPEAKS | Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s 100-day report card score of 90 percent has diminished the credibility of Keluarga Malaysia and revealed his “government has no clothes” by ignoring his five big failures.

His self-assessment of 90 percent marks makes a complete mockery of the term “report card”. Even school children are asking how you can mark and score your own report card, when it should be done by independent and separate assessors.

Amongst the five big failures is the central failure to quickly pull the economy out of recession by improving the economic wellbeing of the rakyat, as seen by soaring food prices and daily necessities reaching record highs.

Both meat and vegetable prices have gone up but vegetable prices for the first time were more expensive than meat. There is genuine concern that inflation will continue to be unmanageable, spilling over to next year and even lead to food shortages.

Secondly, the failure to rigorously apply the Covid-19 SOPs without fear of favour to curb or mitigate the pandemic to avoid imposing another ruinous total lockdown that has brought economic losses of more than RM500 billion.

The 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia event in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) to mark Ismail Sabri’s 100-day report card, with the main attraction being the huge 80 percent discount offered for police and Road Transport Department summons, has drawn huge crowds that ignore the Covid-19 SOPs.

Even the Malaysia Medical Association (MMA) called it poor planning and questioned why such discounts cannot be processed online but force the rakyat’s physical presence just to attend the event and expose them to the risk of Covid-19.

The official penalty of a mere RM1,000 fine to the organisers for breaching the SOPs is clear double standards when compared to opposition MPs being fined individually and every minister and political leader present in KLCC should be summoned.

To avoid the scepticism that this huge 80 percent discount is offered for the first time to attract crowds to the event, the discount should be continued for those who pay within a week and can be processed online.

Thirdly, Ismail Sabri has also disappointed professionalism and good governance by politicising posts and positions with a record number of appointments of ministers, special envoys and special advisers with high salaries and luxury vehicles provided with minimal returns in performance.

Politicians with no qualification except loyalty to the prime minister are appointed to senior positions in government-linked companies managing tens of billions of ringgit of public funds. And as stated by Pakatan Harapan, many agencies, including the both Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission and the police, have been weaponised against political opponents.

Fourthly, there is no new forward plan to address the poor internet coverage and low internet speed by adhering to the principles of accountability and transparency.

Ismail Sabri had missed a golden opportunity to push forward the 5G programme and also provide a cabotage exemption for submarine cable repairs as requested by Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Google.

Finally, Ismail Sabri’s Keluarga Malaysia has no credibility when he practices “divide and rule” policies to try to gain political leverage to win Malay votes by marginalising and even neglecting the non-Malay or non-Muslim community.

Non-Malays are unhappy that the 2022 budget only allocates RM345 million or 0.1 percent of the total RM332 billion despite comprising 30 percent of the country’s population.

No one objects to government programmes and policies to help the bumiputera but to expand at the expense of the non-bumiputera is contrary to national unity amongst the rakyat and national integration of both Sabah and Sarawak.

This is shown by the government’s refusal to provide an additional allocation of RM500 million each to Sabah, Sarawak, Malays and non-Malay communities to ensure a balanced and equitable 2022 budget.

The adoption of extremist policies advocated by PAS such as restrictions on gambling, sale of alcohol and beer on non-Muslims has further offended the sensitivities of non-Muslims.

Extremist and discriminatory policies have openly interfered and disrupted the customary lifestyle and normal business practices of non-Muslims leading to a sense of alienation of being treated as second-class citizens.

LIM GUAN ENG is Bagan MP and DAP secretary-general.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.