Muhyiddin: Pakatan's 100-day reforms are "empty promises"

Muhyiddin - BN is not like that!

Pakatan can promise the sun, moon, stars and mountains... But that is not the way of the BN government. We cannot squander our nation's wealth. - Muhyiddin

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Pakatan Rakyat's reform pledges to be implemented within 100 days of seizing Putrajaya are “empty promises”.

Muhyiddin said Pakatan can promise whatever it wants now because it is not in power and does not have to be accountable for the country's future.

“They probably think that the general election is close, so maybe they know better than us. They are just luring voters with their empty promises, like a supermarket sale," he said.

“But all in all, this is an issue of governance, and the issue of the nation's future. If they just make this kind of offer without proper planning, it would be a lie and a huge deceit. So I hope that the people are not easily influenced by this."

At the Pakatan convention in Penang over the weekend, coalition leaders had unveiled a 100-day reforms pledge, a 10-point resolution to implement major reforms in the event that they form federal government.

Implying that the Pakatan is unlikely to ever reach Putrajaya, Muhyiddin said the opposition will make ear-pleasing plans because it does not have to bear with the implications of long-term damage for the country.

“For example, if they say that they want to raise the salary of teachers by RM500, maybe they would have forgotten that we have 400,000 teachers on government payroll. Then what about the other departments?" said Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister.

“We have 1.2 million civil servants, not including the ones in the states and the local authorities. Do you think that the other departments will just keep quiet and let the teachers enjoy their raise? Then the private sector will also have to re-examine their salary scale.

“So multiply all that and take all the elements into consideration, (and) our country would be bankrupt within (a few) years!”

'BN doesn't squander nation's wealth'

Among others, Pakatan pledges includes the restructuring of key institutions such as the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police.

They also plan to repeal the Internal Security Act as well as instruct the government investment arm Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to buy up highway concessions.

At a press conference after chairing the cabinet committee meeting on youth development in Putrajaya this morning, the deputy premier then issued a reminder on why BN has been in power for more than half a century and counting.

“Pakatan can promise the sun, moon, stars and mountains... But that is not the way of the BN government. We cannot squander our nation's wealth.

“For BN, the prime minister has already a long road map for a high-income nation. But Pakatan only has plans for their first 100 days. They have absolutely no plans to reform the economy or anything."

Muhyiddin said that lofty plans will not resonate with the public because many pledges made before the 2008 general election have yet to be kept.

“We want to see whatever they have promised and see what it really means... We know that in the last general election, they promised a lot of things for Selangor as well but these have not implemented. And then they come up with a grand story as an excuse."

'What third force?'

Muhyiddin scoffed at the so-called non-partisan political parties and movements intending to take part in the next general election.

"The more the merrier. This is a democracy, everyone can join in, but make sure you register your parties so that the people have more choices," he said.

While he said that the presence of many political parties is a sign of healthy democracy, he said that such parties do not pose a threat to BN.

"For us (BN), this is no threat. In history, there are many parties like these but they can only survive for one term.

"In the end, they falter because these parties have no clear basis, no ideology and their leaders have no vision. But it's OK. We are ready to face anyone when the time comes."

The Human Rights Party has said that it is eyeing 15 parliamentary seats, while prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has announced the formation of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement, aimed at fielding quality Independent candidates.

Former PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim joined Akim, promptly renaming it as Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) after being elected unopposed as president.

- Malaysiakini