Yoursay: Harapan deserves full term, but not Mahathir

YOURSAY | ‘Rafidah’s plea for gov’t to be allowed a full term is reasonable, but not for Mahathir.’

Rafidah: Give Harapan full term... if unhappy, change

The Third Man: The Pakatan Harapan election manifesto should be taken as a guide to achieving its objectives in relation to what has been thought possible without knowing the humongous debt the country faced under the previous corrupt regime.

But one thing clear is that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be forthright in stating he will pass the baton to PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim come May 2020.

Thus far, Mahathir has been a disappointment to all Malaysians who voted for a brand-new future for the country and its political reforms. Frankly, he’s no longer seen as the person who can bring change.

Joker: Mahathir said his government was unable to change bad laws and draconian laws because “unfortunately, we have procedures to go through”.

Doesn’t Mahathir know before that there are “procedures to go through” when laws need to be changed?

He was, and still is, the longest serving prime minister in Malaysia's history. If the longest-serving prime minister does not know the country's own procedures, what does that tell us?

The prime minister could be absurdly incompetent, which we all know is far from the case.

The only two explanations left is that he is either lying or he is so used to riding roughshod over procedures and proceedings that he has forgotten that procedures existed in the first place.

Truth Will Always Prevail: As stated by former minister Rafidah Aziz, waiting for five years (one full term) before judging the Harapan government’s performance is fair.

However, if Anwar takes over sooner, there is a better chance that Malaysians can see goods things happening sooner.

Mahathir is becoming a liability for Harapan.

Capo: As per Rafidah’s suggestion, the people can allow Harapan to rule a full term uninterrupted provided Mahathir steps down gracefully by May 10, 2020.

Before GE14, the pulse of the people on the ground clamoured for a transparent and better governance, hence the BN government being toppled after ruling for more than six decades.

But the very person whom the people trusted and put on the premier pedestal is now saying that he did not expect to win and shows utter contempt for a manifesto that galvanised the people to vote overwhelmingly for Harapan.

So Rafidah, Malaysians are willing to give Harapan not only a full term but many more terms once the enemies within are rooted out.

Nagu: There are many unhappy Malaysians who are suffering day in and day out. They need to be motivated and given hope in their own pursuit of happiness.

Unfortunately, the current Harapan government under Mahathir’s leadership provides neither motivation nor happiness to the people.

The flying car, a third national car, black shoes for school students and introducing khat lessons - these are all not inspiring or beneficial for the people.

If Mahathir was in the private sector now, the board of directors or shareholders would not allow such a bumbling CEO to run the show for another three years (to complete a full term).

Mahathir is not fit to lead anymore. Malaysia needs a new captain who can deliver the goods, manage the nation well and not play politics for his own benefit.

Free Sarawak: Here are several solutions for Mahathir and his Harapan government to make Malaysia a better nation. How difficult can it be to accomplish the following?

• Send controversial preacher Zakir Naik back to India as he's a wanted man there.
  
  
• Rectify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be at par with international norms.
  
  
• Source for more markets to export Malaysia’s palm oil and protect the existing markets by keeping our mouths shut.
  
  
• Arrest anyone who makes racial and religious comments against others.
  
  
• Do away with any law which is deemed to be against human rights.
  
  
• Revamp the education system to produce graduates who can compete in the global market.
  
  
• Reduce religious leanings in schools and emphasise more on subjects like English, science and technology.
  
  
• Provide aid and easy access to loans for the lower group, assist them to be independent.

There is no need to wait a full term before getting all these done. The government needs to act immediately.

Undecided: The priority for the country’s leaders right now is to stop the racial rhetoric and policies, and work on uniting the country. But instead, the Malay Dignity Congress held on Oct 6 was allowed to sow division.

Worst of all, the prime minister's willing participation in the congress and his own rhetoric only worsened the disunity of Malaysians and trust in his ability to bring the country forward.

I believe although the majority of Harapan supporters are unhappy with the slow implementation of the election manifesto, the twin issues of harbouring Zakir Naik and racial discord created by the congress beats them all.

Slumdog: I totally agree with Rafidah’s comments. Let’s not dwell on short-term disappointments created by the yet-to-be fulfilled Harapan manifesto.

It is clear that regardless of the Harapan government’s many shortcomings, corruption has been reduced significantly.

Malaysians do not want to revert to the bad days of endemic corruption, racism and religious intolerance.

Take a moment to reflect on the financial mess left behind by Umno, whose dishonest and unethical members endlessly lined their pockets with the public’s money.

Gutenberg: Malaysians understand the financial mess the country is currently in but what the people don’t understand is why racial discrimination is creeping into the Harapan-governed nation.

Why does a Harapan prime minister attend the Malay Dignity Congress which bashed the non-Malays (the very same people who put him there as PM in the first place).

Why is a controversial law like Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) is still retained? Why is our prime minister picking fights with other countries when we are in no position to fight?

Good principles have gone out the window under Harapan’s rule. It is time for a self-check otherwise the Harapan coalition can forget about winning the next general election or even the Tanjung Piai by-election next month for that matter.

Free Sarawak: The Tanjung Piah by-election on Nov 16 will be a referendum of Mahathir’s continued leadership.

If Harapan loses that by-election, he should step down gracefully.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.