THE celebration of sorts by the Malaysian government of the day proclaiming its own assessment and announcing its 90% success in meeting a standard of excellence for the first 100 days under the stewardship of the newly minted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is drawing an unending stream of flak on social media and a few independent online news portals.
Firstly, the reasons for the criticism are the most obvious. In the world of management, performance evaluation must fundamentally reflect independence and impartiality in assessment and verification.
But when ministers themselves present their own powerpoint-rendered achievements and collectively agree that the Ismail Sabri government has achieved dramatic success in 100 days, people will certainly see through the veil of glorification.
Secondly, a massive crowd assembling at a venue to walk through the showcased successes draws even more suspicion. Many are asking what is so difficult in getting condescending staff from every ministry to be present to make the crowd look impressive?
Yes, the above two yardsticks will measure and render whether the Ismail Sabri government deserves accolades and applause from 32 million people.
Should the prime minister not see the merit in asking citizens to assess the 100 days’ performance of his government?
A pool of eminent, learned experts and civil society leaders with independent audit experts could have easily given their assessment that would have been perceived as independent and transparent.
But it wasn’t so.
Should the prime minister’s office not have invited all representatives of civil society interest groups including heads of religious organisations and professional bodies and, most importantly, representatives from consumer bodies, to be the guests of his well manicured expo-like public showcase event rather than fill the hallways with civil servants who sincerely only operate under the canopy of “Diperintah oleh” (instructed by) orders?
That too, wasn’t so.
Hence, can we blame and condemn society for raining flak over the recent government celebration proclaiming its own 100-day performance excellence? It takes no nuclear science to recognise that the citizens have labelled the event as self-glorification.
How will Ismail Sabri survive this failure to secure a nationwide buy-in in a climate where citizens are still reeling under a health pandemic that still registers around 5,000 daily infection rates despite an over 90% success rate in vaccinating citizens?
How will the government of the day ride to the gates of an imminent general election when the recession is biting deeper into all segments of population despite Ismail Sabri's celebrated 100-day performance excellence? – The Vibes, December 10, 2021
J.D. Lovrenciear reads The Vibes
