Too early to judge PH coalition's ability to govern Malaysia: Panel
Panellists at The Straits Times Global Briefing say new team yet to fully govern
It is early days yet to judge if the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition will rule Malaysia better than Barisan Nasional, with much of the three-month-old government's efforts focused on blaming the former administration that governed for more than six decades.
"I have not seen much by way of clear, succinct policy discussion apart from GST (goods and services tax). Right now, all the energy is on scapegoating... At some point, the Pakatan government has to actually govern," said Professor Joseph Liow, dean of Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
He said the new administration's efforts to recover assets allegedly purchased with funds stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) - including a US$250 million (S$344 million) superyacht and a Bombardier jet grounded at Singapore's Seletar airport - "makes for good entertainment", but there needs to be more governing.
Prof Liow was one of three panellists speaking at The Straits Times Global Briefing yesterday titled Malaysia: 100 Days After The General Election, which was presented by OCBC Premier Banking.
Malaysia's Parliament abolished the GST statute last Wednesday. The 6 per cent tax introduced in 2015 was effectively scrapped in June, after the PH government swept to power.
Removing the GST was one of 10 pledges that PH promised to deliver on within its first 100 days in power, with the milestone falling on Friday.
The pact has not done badly on its campaign promises, said panellist Selena Ling, who is OCBC Bank's head of treasury research and strategy.
"Six out of 10 (pledges) are either fulfilled or in the process of being fulfilled. The remaining four are being postponed... due to the fact that basically they are taking a very hard look at how to boost their fiscal finances now that they have scrapped GST," she said.
The government has made some headway with stabilising petrol prices through subsidies, reviewing mega projects with foreign countries and setting up commissions of inquiry to reform governance at troubled state firms, she said.
But it has not made progress on other promises, such as abolishing Felda farmers' debts, deferring study loan repayments amounting to RM39 billion (S$13 billion) and implementing a medical care scheme for lower income groups.
Prof Liow noted that the multicultural PH also faces the delicate task of crafting a progressive Malay agenda that does not sideline other communities and handling the "ketuanan Melayu" (Malay lordship) patronage system that has for decades dispensed state largesse via contracts awarded to the country's dominant ethnic group.
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