Doubts over PH reform agenda

Sometimes, I feel that Pakatan Harapan is spending too little time governing and getting the new Malaysian agenda going and too much time worrying and fighting Umno and PAS.

If only PH could focus on its manifesto and agenda, I am sure the new government would be in better shape today. Instead, many of the reforms are shelved or put in the back-burner precisely because Umno and PAS are behind their backs.

But Umno lost and PAS did not win, did they not? Why worry about a resurgent Umno or a rejuvenated PAS when these two parties are essentially controlled by the same people before the 14th general election?

To me, nothing has really changed within these two parties except that their big sources of finance have been cut off. Give them another year or two and I think they will be in an even more precarious position to compete than before.

Umno and PAS represented failed policies and poor governance. There is no necessity for PH to imitate them. It will be a grave mistake if PH tries to be more Umno than Umno or more PAS than PAS. The past successes of Umno and PAS were mainly due to the largesse of the government they controlled. Now they have nothing.

I believe if PH is able to deliver fairly and equitably to all Malaysians, race and religious rhetoric being tossed around endlessly will die a natural death.

Now is the opportune time to bury extremism, parochialism and bigotry once and for all. PH is in control of the federal and most state governments. Seek the opportunity and forge a new agenda for the nation boldly, quickly and unequivocally.

My biggest concern is within PH itself. Has the coalition reneged on its own belief? Has it lost its idealism? Has it started to pander to vested and big business interests? Has it negated its concerns for “public goods” such as environment, waste management, public health and hygiene, dismantling monopolies and reducing anti-competition behaviour?

Have we seen precipitated change in performance in the civil service, healthcare and education? Have we seen reduced religious interference and dominance in government? Have we seen reduced religiosity and increased morality in our public space?

Many say it is too early to judge PH, and I agree. But my concern is not because I am impatient or wanting to see the results quickly. My concern is the lack of ethos of PH to even begin with the reform in earnest. The focus of PH is dissipating and its efforts lethargic. There is no oomph.

TK Chua is an FMT reader.