At a Malaysiakini-organised forum last November titled “One Year of Madani Government: What’s Next?”, the panellists - of which I was one - agreed that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had a long way to go to deliver on his many promises.
I gave a particularly tough assessment, giving him and the Madani government a D minus based on its performance to date.
”The only thing Anwar is consistent about is his oratorical skills,” I remarked.
“But before he came to power, his coalition promised to do away with the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984) and the Sedition Act.
“Instead, we saw what happened with the Swatch watches that had rainbow colours supposedly supporting the LGBT community. This is repeating what the Umno government did with Bersih, banning yellow T-shirts,” I said.
The media, I said, was promised more freedom but was disappointed with websites getting blocked.
The reaction to my assertion was not unexpected though. Sycopants and cronies crawled out of the woodwork and even a temple caretaker joined the charade, giving me an F for my writings!
Others said that it was audacious to give such a grading but they too had their misgivings about Anwar and the government.
However, they asked the obvious questions: Who if not Anwar, and do you want PAS in government and ruled by syariah laws?
They may have sounded stereotypical but this mantra no longer works, especially with the actions and deeds of government leaders, Anwar included.
‘Palestinians get more’
As fellow columnist P Gunasegaram pointed out, Anwar has yet to prove that he is serious about what he wants to do.
Anwar, he noted, needs to break the reputation he has earned by saying different things to different audiences but not doing anything for them in the end.
Most recently, he told the Indian community: “If I didn’t do anything for the Indian community, you have the right to ‘stab’ me.”
This challenge was gleefully accepted and is supposedly being weaponised in the forthcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.
Malaysiakini reported that several quarters comprising former ministers, former Pakatan Harapan leaders and allies, as well as NGO representatives are holding meetings with local leaders and the Indian community’s representatives urging for a boycott of the polls.
Supporters have coined a new slogan - Palestinians get more than Indian Malaysians - averring to Anwar’s promise of RM100 million to those in the war-torn state.
This has already sent shivers down the spine of leaders who are descending in Kuala Kubu Baharu, hoping to stem the tide of resentment.
Even the offer of RM5.21 million by the Housing and Local Government Ministry to upgrade public infrastructure facilities under the supervision of the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council (MPHS) and the Chinese New Village Project has resulted in accusations of “buying votes”.
This concept was created and fine-tuned and was copyrighted by the BN/Umno government in the past.
The DAP, which had in the past detested and protested against such practices is now into it.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” seems to be a new-found campaign tool.
Is Anwar subservient to Umno?
Rightly or wrongly, the perception before the 15th general election was that Anwar would be the saviour to cure all the ills of the country, has been all but smothered to smithereens.
For the first three months in office, Anwar promised to fight corruption in speeches he made every other day. But the words were never matched with deeds.
Except for the investigations against former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, there has been little to show.
Even, his deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who had his defence called in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case, found himself being given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
He did not exactly throw former attorney-general Idrus Harun under the bus but claimed the charges were so flawed, that it bothered his (Idrus’) conscience and that he wanted to set things right before he left office.
Then came a crisis of sorts, with one man almost bringing the country to the teetering edge and Anwar watched as Umno Youth leader Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh went on a tirade using religion as a tool.
Mariam Mokhtar noted in her commentary: “As prime minister, he lacked leadership and failed to nip the socks issue in the bud. Instead, he allowed the publicity-seeking firebrand, Akmal, to create chaos and disturb the peace.”
On April 4, Akmal confirmed on his Facebook page that he was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, saying he was held despite being scheduled to record his statement at the Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur the following day.
But Anwar knew better, claiming Akmal was not arrested but called up to facilitate an investigation.
I then asked: “Akmal himself confirmed he was arrested but did Anwar know better?”
In the meantime, Akmal continues to make statements challenging the establishment. More recently, he remarked that the Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming was “stupid” but how did Anwar react when a member of his cabinet had a label attached to him?
Instead of a reprimand, he said: “I don’t entertain such statements. To my mind, it’s not the proper context of our unity government. We should work together.”
A sign of weakness or an indication of being subservient to Umno and its brand of politics?
There are dozens of other episodes which have irked society as a whole and nothing has changed.
That “D minus” score was given five months ago but it is spiralling downwards.
Would I venture a revision? No, I leave it to you, the discerning reader to be the arbiter. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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