KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister on November 24 last year, after leading Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form a coalition government with former political enemies in Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
However, it was not until a week later that Anwar announced his Cabinet on December 2 and they were sworn in the day after before getting to work quickly after their maiden meeting on December 5.
Today marks 100 days or slightly over three months since the formation of the Cabinet which remains controversial with inclusion of Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as deputy prime minister, and Anwar himself taking the financial portfolio as well.
The Cabinet has so far received a mixed reaction from voters, scoring 54 per cent approval from respondents in a Merdeka Center survey released last month, but only 25 per cent of respondents in a controversial O2 Malaysia survey said they were satisfied with the government.
So what have they achieved in their 100 days of work? Here’s a look at some of the highlights of what the so-called "unity government" has announced and implemented so far:
Ministry of Health
On December 12, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced plans to give out free sanitary pads to address period poverty — starting with the ministry’s headquarters.
On December 28, Dr Zaliha said online appointments via the MySejahtera app have started in 673 clinics for health screenings and a programme to quit smoking, noting that it could help prevent congestion at registration and waiting areas.
This would also come with automated reminders for the time slots that users have chosen. They can also make changes to appointment dates through MySejahtera.
On January 7, the ministry announced it has introduced medicine labels with text in Braille, at 250 selected health facilities which are expected to benefit 55,000 individuals with visual impairment.
On January 22, Zaliha announced an action plan to tackle overcrowding of hospitals’ emergency departments, including reviewing the effectiveness of extended working hours, introducing short-stay wards, refining bed management systems and adding more healthcare workers.
Ministry of Communications and Digital
On December 21, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced the Unity Package for prepaid mobile internet plans, which offers more internet data at higher speeds and longer validity periods to youths aged up to 30, the B40 or low-income group, the disabled, senior citizens, and army veterans and police veterans.
Compared to a previous youth-only RM30 plan under the Ismail Sabri administration for 20GB internet valid for three months, this new plan also at RM30 is effectively cheaper as it will be valid for six months with 30GB of internet with a higher 3Mbps speed. This new plan is available from February 28 until December 31, 2023.
On February 2, Fahmi announced a new Unity Package for fixed internet broadband for the B40 group, disabled persons, veterans and senior citizens which would be cheaper than current plans priced around RM89.
With this new plan for unlimited data with speeds up to 30Mbps to be available from March onwards at RM69 per month with a 24-month subscription contract, this will be 22 per cent cheaper and can result in total savings of RM480 throughout the contract period.
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living
In early January, the ministry started the “Payung Rahmah” initiative to reduce the cost of living for the low-income group and hardcore poor, including the "Jualan Rahmah" or cheap sales by hypermarkets and supermarkets.
These outlets can apply to sell at 10 to 30 per cent lower prices. It also covers "Kafe Rahmah", "Bakul Rahmah" and "Pakej Rahmah" programmes.
On January 31, minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub launched "Menu Rahmah", where participating restaurants, retailers, food and beverage operators can voluntarily offer balanced meals for lunch or dinner at RM5 or less per plate.
On February 15, the minister launched a pilot project for the sale of unsubsidised RON 95 petrol and diesel in Perlis to cars with foreign registration for three months to counter fuel smuggling activities.
The initiative's effectiveness will be evaluated before expansion to other border states such as Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
On February 27, the minister launched the “Bakul Rahmah” programme consisting of donated food supplies to help the B10 hardcore poor group earning less than RM2,500, regardless of race or religion.
This initiative is expected to benefit 124,578 households.
Ministry of Transport
On February 10, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that Malaysians who own private vehicles can now choose not to display physical road tax stickers or carry a physical driving licence if they opt for digitalisation.
He said this new policy will save the Road Transport Department (JPJ) RM96 million annually and also reduce congestion at JPJ counters.
On February 16, Loke launched KTM Berhad’s MyRailLife free pass for disabled persons, primary and secondary school students.
This will enable them to enjoy free rides on the KTM Shuttle for Gemas-Tumpat, KTM Komuter for the Klang Valley and northern sectors.
On February 20, Loke launched a free shuttle bus service to provide last-mile connectivity from KL Sentral to Parliament and to encourage the use of public transport, while also addressing the limited parking space in Parliament.
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
On February 15, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang announced that the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had approved the licence renewal for rare earth company Lynas for another three years, but said the company must comply with existing licence conditions which had been decided before 2020.
Chang said this means Lynas — which had produced 1.08 million metric tonnes of radioactive waste since starting its operations in Pahang in 2012 and with this amount expected to hit 1.2 million metric tonnes by July 2023 — cannot produce additional radioactive waste after July 2023.
Lynas will, however, be allowed to continue operations and activities that do not produce radioactive waste, but will have to ensure activities that produce radioactive waste are carried out in Australia instead.
Ministry of Education
On February 17, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry has agreed to implement seven immediate steps starting from the 2023/2024 school year to reduce teachers’ burden, including limiting Teachers’ Day celebrations to the national and school level only.
Other steps include abolishing any contest, celebration or events at all levels which will not have a big impact on the students’ learning and would only burden teachers; reducing the frequency of checks on school management under the Standard Kualiti Pendidikan Malaysia (SKPM) involving teachers to once a year; and not limiting public examination invigilators to teachers but enabling government retirees and students of Institute of Teacher Education and higher learning institutions who fulfil certain criteria to also carry out such roles.
Ministry of Home Affairs and Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform)
On January 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that an independent Children’s Commission will be set up under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to probe and deal with abuse and social problems involving children.
Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said on January 19 said this independent statutory body will educate the public on children’s rights, hold inquiries and investigate complaints about child rights violations, and advise the government on laws as well as international obligations for child rights.
On February 18, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Azalina announced that the Cabinet has agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to enable children born abroad to Malaysian mothers to gain automatic Malaysian citizenship, with the proposed legal change expected to be tabled in the current Dewan Rakyat sitting.
Ministry of Economy
On January 12, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli officiated the launch of open data platform called OpenDOSM Next Gen, with Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidi saying the platform is in line with the agency’s efforts to innovate and encourage proper and accurate dissemination of data for public use.
On February 26, Rafizi launched the RM750 million programme People’s Income Initiative (IPR) aimed at training some 120,000 hardcore poor households to grow crops, sell cooked food and provide in-demand services to raise their income.
The programme’s three main thrusts are Intan (which will train agricultural entrepreneurs to grow food), Insan (where the food grown will be supplied as raw ingredients for entrepreneurs to be trained to cook the food to be sold) and Ikhsan (to train participants for in-demand work that experience labour shortage.)
Ministry of International Trade and Industry
On March 1, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz announced that his ministry approved Tesla's application to import battery electric vehicles into Malaysia.
He said Tesla will establish a head office, Tesla experience and service centres and a supercharger network in Malaysia, which would create skilled jobs and better-paying jobs for Malaysians.
On March 2, Tengku Zafrul announced that Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be investing RM25.5 billion in Malaysia by 2037, with the company intending to eventually have Malaysians make up 80 per cent of its workforce here.
