PH must formulate plan to rebuild Malaysia, says DAP man

 

Charles Santiago has described the successful take-off of the white flag campaign as a reflection of the public’s frustration with Putrajaya.

PETALING JAYA: Klang MP Charles Santiago has called for a Pakatan Harapan plan of action for the rebuilding of Malaysia to show it is capable of overcoming the current economic and health crises.

Speaking to FMT, he said the plan should be formulated in a framework that would provide for a social protection system and address healthcare, poverty, employment and the needs of small and medium enterprises.

It should cover programmes for getting funds to organise and support the revival of the economy, he said.

Santiago, who is a DAP member, said the widening of the rich-poor gap was beginning to cause loss of faith in the government. “People think the government is the problem, no longer the solution.”

He described the successful take-off of the white flag campaign as a reflection of the public’s frustration with Putrajaya.

Oh Ei Sun.

He said there is a need for MPs from PH to go down to the ground to tell people the coalition was capable of coming up with solutions.

Political analyst Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said PH needed better coordination among its three component parties to show its capabilities as an alternative government.

He acknowledged the coalition had good ideas for addressing Covid-19 and helping people, but he said its statements were coming sporadically from different individuals.

“Right now, PH looks very fragmented,” he said. “It needs to present a united front with strong leadership, just as it did in 2018.

Oh suggested that it form a shadow cabinet and assign a spokesman for each portfolio in order to deliver consistent messages.

Azmi Hassan.

“It’s also high time for it to take an official stance. If it cannot form a government after the next election, will it entertain ideas of working with other parties and so on? It needs to explain these to voters.”

Former academic Azmi Hassan said the upcoming five-day parliamentary sitting was an opportunity for MPs from PH to demonstrate the coalition’s ability to govern the country once again.

But, he said, it had its work cut out because of the damage it did in its 22 months in power, during which “certain ministers” showed they were not worthy of their ministries.

Azmi said PH should be open to cooperating with other entities because it was unlikely to form a stable government alone.

“It needs to demonstrate that it is not only willing to work with other parties to form a stable government, but that it will choose only capable persons to run ministries, not party leaders just because they are leaders,” he said. - FMT