PKR MP gives Harapan gov't 'B+' for effort, performance

If running the country is a test, a PKR lawmaker has given the Pakatan Harapan government a "B+" or far above average score for its effort and performance so far.

In an interview with The Malay Mail, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said this was despite the preparations being made only after taking over federal power in the last 14th general elections, nearly nine months ago.

"The first six months had been a lot of learning the ropes and figuring how government machinery works," the PKR communications chief was quoted as saying.

On areas for improvement, Fahmi said the government could do better in terms of fulfilling its election promises to the rakyat, and urged Harapan leadership to take such matters seriously.

"There are changes we will make internally that we are going to put in place to ensure Harapan, in terms of organisation, is better prepared in delivering our promises.

"Harapan lawmakers must stop the rhetorics and must start proving that we are able to make things better for people," he stressed.

On a personal level, Fahmi said the least he could do was to prove his capabilities as a representative of the new administration.

"If you highlight a problem to me, I will tend to it. Even if it means going out on a Sunday to lower a parking barrier at reserved parking lots in Bangsar or going out in the middle of the night to stand in a construction site that is working past the permitted hours," said the first-term lawmaker.

According to Fahmi, another area of improvement for the government was to address public sentiments that its approach to policy-making was indecisive and resulted in flip-flops.

"When we took power we thought we could execute our promises but the discovery goes on until today and you never realise how bad things are.

"The rot was systemic. We have changed the top and now we are in the process of changing the middle so the rakyat can feel the change in a decade," he said.

"Those who are now five, seven years old will reap the harvest of the season of Reformasi by the time they are in their 20s," he added.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously admitted that some of Harapan's election promises were made without the expectation that the coalition could truly win power. 

Since then, former premier Najib Abdul Razak has earned the moniker "king of trolls" for his regular counters and digs against the government on social media, particularly on the coalition's alleged failures to fulfil its promises.  - Mkini