After the Musical Chairs game's over, Focus on the Economy and Serve the Rakyat

 

        After the political game of musical chairs is over, and a new unity government is formed, it is time for the new cabinet to focus on the country's sluggish economy. 

        As Anwar Ibrahim has put it, the new government will not be known as a PH government. 

        We like to see a more stable government to both inspire confidence in the people and foreign investors.  The new government should continue to run the country for the next five years before another general election is called. 

        No more musical chairs, please! Instead, look for a formula that can avoid another parliamentary impasse. Already this has happened twice, when a clear formula could have prevented such recurrence.

Stop the Culture of Betrayal

        Since the Anti-Hopping Law was passed, this has helped to address the problem of frogs and toads doing their party hopping. 

        Several of these people - especially Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin on my radar - have lost their seats. They have to accept their fate because people have spoken through their votes.  

        Saifudin Abdullah, too, should not be too happy that he won his parliamentary seat.  Even Khairy Jamaludin has been moved to another constituency where he has been trounced.

         It is time that politicians learn that betrayal of people's mandate is suicidal in their political career. Even Zuraida found herself without a party for a short period of time.

        The culture of betrayal has to stop if politicians do not want to see themselves betrayed by their own friends. We are all familiar with the saying, 'In politics, enemies can turn into friends, and friends can be your worst enemies.' 

        Barisan Nasional's seats have also been reduced to only 30, with most of the votes swinging towards Perikatan Nasional. This is expected. Before the general election, a friend of mine told me, `Most of us are voting PN.'

        The unity government would hopefully allow Umno and BN time to rejuvenate after doing some soul searching. 

        Most of us want to see an Umno that is progressive, not regressive or playing on race and religion, especially when the civil society is working hard to fend off these dances. Both issues can destroy the fabrics of society.

      Economy Main Focus

        Without working on the country's economy and competing with the rest of the world, Malaysians will continue to fall behind other growing economies in the ASEAN region.

        Although we were once the `Malaysian' Tiger - a tweak from the `Malayan' Tiger, out of respect for my brothers and sisters in East Malaysia who asked, "Why Malayan tiger?" -- this tiger is limping and famished. Malaysia will become a backward nation with first class facilities, but nowhere there compared to Indonesia or Vietnam.

        At the moment, only Anwar has the experience to steer the country out of the economic doldrum we are in. He also enjoys International reputation and has the clout to win the confidence of foreign Investors. Let 2023 be his Jubilee year since he started the call for Reformasi. It will not be easy, but it is necessary if Malaysians want to see the country moving forward.

        If the politicians continue to fight each other, the country's economy will be neglected. It is time for the cabinet to engage the best people for the job, regardless of race or religion, or political affiliations.

        It is also time for the government-linked corporations to be streamlined, and chairpersons should be appointed from a pool of qualified people who understand the business. 

     People the Main Focus

        Let common sense prevail. If you are elected by the people for the people, you cannot afford not to be with the people, to understand their challenges.

        Good policies can only come out from the politicians who are close with the people. Ivory tower politicians will only produce ivory tower policies. 

        I have written this blog post to share a good example of two politicians who were willing to come together to work out a solution for the people of Subang Jaya. 

'

        This is what the rakyat would like to see. It is time for politicians to dance to a different music, instead of still doing the duck dance. 

        It is also time for politicians to learn from each other's strength and compete in terms of how they can serve the rakyat better. It's not cash which is king, but the people who voted for you.

        The outcome of GE15 which shows Pakatan Harapan's ability to garner 83 seats despite the malapportionment of constituencies shows that this is a more stable formula for votes. 

   Reform Government Institutions and Reduce Corruption

        

        With over 1.8 million civil servants, it should mean greater productivity for the civil service and greater efficiency.

        Reforms have to focus on improving governance and reducing corruption. Malaysia has been ranked in the 62nd place out of 180 countries. To re-gain investors confidence (leading to job creation), the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) should keep improving.

        Countries with good CPI index attract the top corporations around the world. If Malaysia wants to be the biggest recipient of foreign investments, the government must address the issue of corruption and bribery. 

        Politicians must walk the talk. Money politics must be banned so that everyone within the party can have a level playing field.  

        With the rakyat, you cannot talk `You scratch my back, I scratch your back.' That's basically corruption. Members of parliament are elected to serve the people. You hold back the solutions to their problems, they will wait for the right time to snub you. 

        Listen to the wise man: 

        It is also time to revamp the local councils as the delivery of services by the third tier of the government will impact on the quality of life.

        Laws should be amended to allow for disciplinary actions, and removal of underperforming staff just like in the corporate world; at the same time, those who perform well should be rewarded based on meritocracy, not seniority or political links.

        East Malaysians who are asking for better job opportunities within the civil service should gradually replace West Malaysians. After all, they are the stakeholders and the future of their state development depends on their hard work. 

Moving Forward

        Malaysians need to move on instead of getting stuck in the current impasse. 

        With 222 Members of Parliaments, the grey matter should be sufficient to come out with a good solution. 

        As rakyat, we want to see a progressive nation for all Malaysians. 

 (Please note that this is a blog which allows me to get my thoughts out of my chest. It is not meant for publication; therefore, I have not made any efforts to clean up the text at times. After all, what is more important for me personally is to have enough sleep).