LETTER | 10th Prime Minister – Reformasi is being realised…

LETTER | Dear 10th Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, I guess the honeymoon period is over and the honeymooners need to face the stark realities of the situation in the country.

Many look forward to the changes needed to make the chants of ‘reformasi’ a reality and the changes implemented.

A few have been initiated, but there are lots more that we are waiting for. You have had the luxury of time for the last 25 years to think about how to make changes you see fit and it should not be a problem itemising it and letting the rakyat know what is in the plan.

Meantime, I could not find a clear definition of ‘reformasi’ nor was it articulated with concrete and pragmatic objectives. Loosely, it was about justice, the prevalence of cronyism and corruption.

However, there were two documents that originated from Chinese activists: the "People Are The Boss" declaration and that of the Malaysian Chinese Organizations' Election Appeals Committee (also known as Suqiu).

The closest was the ‘Permatang Pauh Declaration’ dated Sept 12, 1998. Many things have happened but that's water under the bridge now and there needs to be a clear vision moving forward. Piecemeal ‘repairs’ may not work. There may be budgetary constraints but a think tank to work on a holistic approach is needed.

In your maiden speech to staff from the Prime Minister’s Department, you said the civil service can no longer take things as usual and the change has to start from the leadership. Sharing your past experience in the government, your first instruction was to bar family members or close friends from being given preferential treatment for government projects.

You also advised them to be independent, professional and tied to the pledge to become human beings who are useful to our families and society and will advise your ministers to respect the administrative process.

We have heard that the government will uphold the highest ethical standards and there will be no room for abuse of power and any breaches will be severely dealt with, without fear or favour.

May I suggest a few things that could assist you in your march towards achieving the above advice?

You have started the ‘Prime Minister’s Question Time’ in Parliament. This can be implemented at all the ministries where the Ketua Setiausaha or state Pengarah takes questions from the public, say once a month, through a Zoom meeting.

At the initial stage, there will be numerous issues but if tackled efficiently, by grouping them, there will be fewer in the future. Major issues should be tracked to ensure closure. And golf games should be restricted now.

It is about time to assess your ministers on their performances. You may have a benchmark as a basis for evaluation.

On the ruling to bar family members or close friends from being given preferential treatment, you may need to review the various political appointments, even if it is pro bono. Of course, they too need to be assessed to ensure their usefulness to society and whether they respect the administrative processes - more importantly, without conflict of interest and being professional.

For the highest ethical standards and no room for abuse of power, there is room for improvement and I leave it to you.

Next, you may want to reconsider future overseas trips at a time when there are many issues at home to be tackled. For the RM170 billion in investment commitments from China, for the sake of transparency, do have a monitoring system to ensure they are fully realised.

Do avoid repeating the mistakes of the previous Pakatan Harapan regime, where component parties could not reconcile their different agendas. The scenario is still the same with an old adversary in the coalition government. 

Hopefully, the economic progress and stability, for now, can be strengthened and carried to the next general election (GE).

The Ketuanan Melayu cry is not likely to wither. You may need to take the bull by the horns and engage in intellectual discourses. It may seem difficult to change the Malay political culture away from blind loyalty and clientelism but the change was evident since the 2008 GE.

A few days ago, the Bank Negara governor urged the government to implement key structural reforms to enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness and growth potential. 

The six key policy priorities include digitalisation; fiscal resilience; climate-resilient economy; growth potential; future-ready workforce; and social protection. This would be a walk in the park since you had the experience of being the finance minister during the Asian financial crisis in the 90s.

Last, but not least, ‘reformasi’ should not be viewed as a manifestation of Umno's factionalism as we can no longer take things as usual and the change has to start from the leadership.

What say you?

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