YOURSAY | Silence not an option for Anwar

 

YOURSAY | He should voice his opinion on certain issues.

COMMENT | Unity govt: There’s good reason to be distraught

Salvage Malaysia: I agree with former ambassador Dennis Ignatius that many of us want Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government to succeed.

Unfortunately, many are getting disappointed going on to disillusioned due to the following:

• A cabinet comprising many underperforming ministers.

• Anwar doesn’t look like an administrator. More like an excellent salesperson.

• Chance to reset the country but nothing much yet. Same mistake as Pakatan Harapan in 2018. If they lose the government, they will be at the receiving end.

• Anwar holding on to too many portfolios. Hardly any concrete policy coming out from the Finance Ministry. Big cockup that even the Kuala Lumpur mayor took so long to be announced.

• Many U-turns on Anwar’s promised manifesto and reforms.

• Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi looks more like the real PM than Anwar.

• Court cluster seems to be slowly getting off the hook one by one.

• Many previous corruption cases brought by Harapan before GE15 are now buried six feet underground.

See how disappointed many of us are?

Apanama is back: The hardcore supporters of Anwar or Anwarists will say, "Rome is not built in a day." They will keep saying this to buy time.

This is not the way. For certain issues, Anwar should voice his opinion.

For example, the letter written by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said to former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s legal counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over MACC's probe against judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

Being silent is not an option at all for any prime minister, especially when the judiciary is under assault.

Besides this issue, there were other issues where he chose to remain silent. This has nothing to do with reform. As a prime minister, he needs to put his feet down.

Keeping silent presumes that he condones the actions and this will affect his unity government's stability.

Umno may become bolder later. In four months, Zahid and Azalina had their days without much interference from Anwar. This is true for Zahid, as he’s been appointing Umno leaders in statutory bodies. He is calling the shots.

Anwar is now dancing with the wolves within his cabinet and this does not bode well with the stability of the unity government.

Moreover, look at the Human Resources Ministry. This government is going to be five months old, yet we experience it as if it was the era of Umno-BN pre-2018.

Of course, the tender system has improved, and there is a cut to the PM’s salary (full) and his cabinet members (20 percent). Are we satisfied with just these? What’s next?

Despite these, Anwar’s administration is lacking integrity and sometimes faces governance issues.

Bravemalaysian: I am dead against corruption. However, I also realise we are not living in Utopia where everything is perfect. I am OK if Anwar takes one step back in order to take another 10 steps forward.

It’s a fact that Zahid is in control of Umno now and this government does need Umno to continue. Actually, they still have the bare numbers without Umno but the government will not be stable and can fall any day.

Politics is about compromises when one does not have the absolute majority. The question is whether the survival of this government is important enough to warrant some distasteful and immoral compromises or is it better than allowing Perikatan Nasional to rule and ruin further this country.

Let us not sow seeds of dissension expecting this government to be perfect in every way because trying to be perfect will spell its very own doom.

I, therefore, appeal to all who want reforms to expect some compromises on the way. Najib being pardoned is a big ‘no’. He is no longer important to the survival of this government and Anwar should not compromise on this.

Let us all give some time and space to this government to implement the most urgent reforms and changes to the country. The task is Herculean.

Look at the way Anwar is handling the civil service. We all know how bloated, inefficient, and unappreciative they are and how serious reforms are needed. Yet Anwar is praising and almost mollycoddling them and giving them bonuses, among others.

We all know there should be serious reforms, but it has to take time, slowly and step by step. The civil service now is so powerful it can cause serious problems for any government.

So, in this issue, like many others, we must be patient and not push the government to move too fast or it will fall. The alternative is simply unthinkable for the nation.

Man on the Silver Mountain: If Harapan wants to avoid Harapan government 1.0, it must have Malays support, right now, that support comes from Umno, not PKR, which Anwar clearly sees.

The fact that Zahid is Anwar’s friend since Umno days probably complicates matters.

The big contention is the Harapan-Umno symbiotic relationship. Anwar has to take sides to be seen as being genuine in his support for Umno, thus for Malay interests. What he does or does not do, will not be lost on the Malays.

It is surely an enviable task as PN definitely has the upper hand to win the hearts of the Malays. Both parties know this. What we see in their posturing respectively is all about being seen as those who really have the Malays' interest at heart.

Based on this situation, the best way would be to leave the judiciary to the judiciary. Any speculation does not help. - Mkini