NOVEMBER 28 — It seems that as Malaysians, we just cannot catch a break when it comes to our leaders, no matter how hard we try.
Last year, majority of the nation banded together like never before when we voted out the Barisan Nasional coalition that had been ruling the country since its inception. This came after years and years of being governed by a party and a prime minister whose mantra was greed and corruption.
It took the 1MDB scandal, which proved that the man who was meant to represent and care for his people was rather stealing billions from them, before we acted and threw out Najib Razak and his band of merry men.
Finally, after the 2018 election, we thought we had inherited a decent coalition, a decent government, and a decent, if not experienced, prime minster.
The Pakatan Harapan coalition and the stated intermediary prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, were going to steadily move us in the right direction, introduce much needed reforms, and continue to unite the Malaysian people ... right?
Wrong
The majority of the country set aside their differences to bring down a corrupt and selfish government, only to vote in another that has just as many problems.
As of today, PH has disappointed the Malaysian people more times than one can count.
There is the constant backing out of pre-election pledges- the abolishing of the sedition act, the ratification of the UN’s anti-discrimination treaty, and the promised government transparency to name a few. Hell, Mahathir himself stated that many of the pledges were only made because, “we thought we were going to lose [so] we put in tough things in the manifesto.”
There is Dr Mahathir’s consistent pandering to the Malay majority, causing racial rifts that divide the nation. From his speech at the Malay Dignity Conference, his endorsement of affirmative action policy, to his call for Malay government officials from across the board to join his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and form a superior Malay party.
There is the ambiguity when it comes to leadership and the transition from an outdated, 94-year-old leader to the younger contender as promised. Despite the nation being told that Mahathir would rule for up to two years before passing responsibility along, his recent remarks have made it clear that not only does he think he is the only man who will be able to “save” Malaysia, but he will hold on to power for as long as possible.
And of course, there are the bread-and-butter problems, personified by member of the fisherfolk community in the Bagan Ayer Masin village in Kukup who stated that the cost of living is getting higher while business is declining — pure and simple.
The problems go on and on. It has become clear that the strength and courage used by our nation to vote out an old and corrupt government, brought in a new government that is equally problematic.
PH seems to have lost sight of their mission, and rather then go back to the basics and earnestly try to reform Malaysia, they are on a path to creating a weaker, disillusioned, frustrated, and divided society. A society that has proven to be unluckier in the choice of leadership than any other.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
