By TK Chua
Many articles have been written and many views expressed on how we Malaysians, despite the odds, managed to achieve the impossible on May 9. Led by some very able Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders, the success was momentous and beyond expectation.
However, this process to change was ten years in the making. The previous Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN)-led government was too incompetent and too corrupt to address the endless issues frustrating the people, thus giving unending ammunition to the opposition. From 1MDB, GST, FGV, Tabung Haji, Digital Mall and the withdrawal of subsidies, to the cost of living and the ringgit tanking, we were spoilt for choice in how to attack the government.
Following its initial success in 2008, the opposition was able to attract and hone many more talents over the years. Today, it is likely that many of them will be in the government, serving and doing rather than monitoring and criticising. I can’t imagine the number of positions in the federal government, its agencies, GLCs and statutory bodies that are now available to them.
Suddenly, there is a stark vacuum in the opposition to the present PH-led federal government.
Can we depend on Umno/BN to function as an effective opposition in Putrajaya? I doubt it. Umno and BN have never served as government critics before. Over the years and due to “inbreeding”, the coalition has become depleted of capable and talented people. Who in Umno/BN can we depend on to provide an effective opposition voice to the PH-led federal government today? Who in Umno/BN can lead “Bersih” or “Invoke”-type organisations?
The people are euphoric over PH’s victory and rightly so. But I think we must think one step further, even now.
In the first few years of PH’s rule, perhaps we will be safe from corruption and abuse of power. Its leaders could be too raw and inexperienced to commit such acts.
But most of us know the famous maxim by now: “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The new government must be monitored and watched from day one. Lee Kuan Yew once said that the government must be clean from day one. It is easier to prevent corruption from taking root than to try and get rid of it after it has happened. There will be influencers, lobbyists, cronies and businessmen ever ready to corrupt some of our “inexperienced” politicians.
PH has promised to do many things in its manifesto, some of which are low hanging fruits that can be done quite quickly. We must see to it that its leaders do so without further delay.
Whatever was disadvantageous to PH during its time as the opposition has turned to its advantage in the government today. If we do not persist, its leader will procrastinate and drag their feet.
All governments need effective and vocal opposition, no ifs and buts. Talented people are not ipso facto good people. There are many talented people in PH today. But like all politicians, they need monitoring and criticism of their mistakes.
TK Chua is an FMT reader.
The views expressed by the writer are not necessarily those of FMT.