KUALA LUMPUR – Its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be the only major plus point for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s six-month-old administration.
Observers believe that the performance of the prime minister and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government pales in comparison to that of their predecessors over the same period as they struggle to make headway – politically and policy-wise.
For one, the Muhyiddin administration has failed to come up with significant policies that cater to the low- and middle-income groups, and is instead giving its lawmakers key positions in the cabinet and government-linked companies (GLCs).
This may not go down well among the public, according to independent political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, who said Muhyiddin appears to be more concerned about consolidating his position before the 15th general election, which must be held by 2023.
“More needs to be done for the B40 and M40 groups who are facing the economic impact of the movement control order. There is also no strategy to facilitate the gradual reopening of the economy.
“PN is doing wrong by not showing and proving to the people that it is doing everything it can for them. The change in government (in March) does not appear to be for the people.”
He said Muhyiddin does not seem to have full control of his government.
“He’s facing daily calls for a fresh election. The only thing he did right was to keep his public presence in the media at a minimum.”
Khoo said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan (PH) performed much better in their first six months in Putrajaya, with a clear direction from the start and a manifesto as a guide – something that PN lacked.
Among other things, PH abolished the unpopular goods and services tax, announced a petrol subsidy, increased the minimum wage nationwide to RM1,100 and reduced costs for megaprojects during this period.
“PH fared better until internal political struggles spoiled it for them. At least, Dr Mahathir was in control of his government in the first six months,” Khoo said.
Internal power struggle
Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun said similar to what PH went through in the latter stages of its short stint in power, PN is now finding itself embroiled in an internal power struggle.
Splits appeared in Bersatu following Muhyiddin’s decision to ally his party with Umno and PAS. Those loyal to Muhyiddin remained in the party, while former chairman Dr Mahathir’s faction quit to form Pejuang.
Even within PN, parties are jockeying for seats. In Sabah, Bersatu wants to contest 45 of the 73 state seats, a move made without the blessing of pact lynchpin Umno.
Umno had said Barisan Nasional (BN) would contest all the seats it lost following a series of defections to Bersatu.
“In the opposition, we have Dr Mahathir, who continues to be in battle with PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but in the government, we can see that Umno is already pushing hard to marginalise Bersatu,” Oh said.
“It seems like both sides of the political divide are more consumed by their own power struggle than trying to find ways to defeat their opponent.
“The public will not like what they see. But do they have an alternative? Perhaps not, because there is not much leadership quality one way or the other. So, you can only choose the lesser of two evils.”
‘Devolution of duties’ a positive
Oh said many Malaysians would forgive PN’s shortcomings, looking at how well the government has dealt with the Covid-19 outbreak.
In a Merdeka Centre survey this month, Muhyiddin’s approval rating shot up to 69%.
Oh commended the administration for its willingness to delegate duties to experts, such as Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“It was very wise of them to essentially devolve the handling and combating of the pandemic to civil servants, especially the health services.
“This kind of devolution of duties and responsibilities can be a huge plus point for PN, because this is unlike the previous BN regime, where many projects were created to make money without really combating the issues at hand.”
The survey also found that PH’s approval rating plummeted, with only 25% of respondents viewing the coalition positively. In comparison, PN received a 51% positive rating.
This can be seen as a significant achievement for a government that was only recently chastised and condemned by the public for overthrowing PH.
The Dr Mahathir-led PH collapsed in late February after losing its majority in Parliament following Bersatu’s departure and the exodus of 11 lawmakers from PKR.
After a week-long stand-off that involved the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Muhyiddin was finally sworn in as the eighth prime minister and took his oath of office on March 1. – The Vibes, September 21, 2020
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