Malaysia’s political scene has been messy. Since 2018, we have seen three prime ministers from different political parties. In the process, the rakyat has been sucked into a whirlpool of frequent political squabbling and manipulation intended to distract and confuse.
With a general election (GE15) looming, let us take a refresher on what really matters.
The downfall of the Barisan Nasional government in 2018 and the subsequent rule of the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018-2020 offer essential insights.
Despite fear mongering by Umno, the PH government ruled decently well for a new government. Malaysia’s economic growth in 2018 and 2019 was 4.8% and 4.4%, in line with the historical trend.
Government departments remained functional, businesses were robust, jobs remained abundant, and Malaysia remained peaceful. The transition to the new government opened up the possibility that Malaysia can function well without BN.
The rakyat got to witness firsthand that Umno’s propaganda was full of bluff and empty threats.
Not only was the nascent PH government’s performance on par with the self-proclaimed experts in governance, PH even exceeded the BN government in specific areas:
Prices had been the most stable since 2011. The inflation rate in 2018 and 2019 was at its lowest in a decade.
The World Bank’s government effectiveness index placed Malaysia at a score of 1.08 and 1.00 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. These were drastic improvements compared to 0.83 in 2017 and 0.87 in 2016.
The government was the 35th most effective out of 192 countries in the world, up from 44th in 2017, overtaking Spain.
Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index in 2019, as measured by Transparency International, was the country’s best ever ranking at 51 out of 180 countries. Soon after the Sheraton Move which led to the collapse of the PH government in 2020, the scores fell. The political quagmire in 2021 dragged the country further down to 57th place.
One of Umno’s propaganda claims was to paint the PH government as being sellouts of the Malays. Umno had claimed that Bumiputera rights would be diminished with DAP in power; sadly, many people fell prey to such low-level messaging.
However, Penang and Selangor have been under PH rule for decades, and the rights and wellbeing of Bumiputeras there have only flourished. When there is good governance, the issue of race is no longer a concern because the standard of living of all Malaysians is elevated together.
To illustrate what this means in real life, let’s look at one of the best measures of wellbeing – wages, which reflect the purchasing power of the rakyat. Now, how has wages fared during the PH rule compared to the years under the BN rule?
The average annual median wage growth was higher by one percentage point under the PH government (6.5%) compared to its BN counterpart (5.5%). Contrary to Umno’s claim that the livelihood of Bumiputeras was declining, the data shows that they were actually better off under PH than under BN.
On average, Bumiputera median wages grew by 6.3% when the PH government was in power, compared to 5.8% under the BN government.
So, the narrative that DAP is anti-Malay does not seem valid. In fact, there is evidence that the PH government has benefited all Malaysians, especially Bumiputeras.
The rakyat was optimistic about the PH administration. According to an approval poll by the Merdeka Center think tank, 64% of the survey respondents felt that the country was heading in the right direction during the early days of PH rule.
Even though this confidence waned towards the end of the period, the numbers were still relatively better than during the Najib-BN era.
Therefore, unseating the PH government in 2020 was unnecessary and it prevented us from truly evaluating the PH government’s successes and failures since they were stripped of power before serving out their full term. Malaysians should remember the rights and mandate given to the government via the ballot box and not be deceived by sly politicians who love to talk without providing evidence.
Of course, the PH government was far from perfect. We have seen some policy blunders, such as replacing GST with SST and education minister Maszlee Malik’s unpopular approaches concerning the Jawi curriculum, school internet and free breakfast in school. However, data and statistics suggest that Umno’s claims about PH’s unfitness to rule due to a lack of experience could not be further from the truth.
Only incompetent politicians would resort to such attempts to distract the rakyat with tactics that seek to discredit the opponent using vague slurs and groundless insults. Sadly, some of my fellow citizens have fallen prey to such baseless messaging.
I have provided the basis for evidence-based storytelling, illustrated with official statistics so that the rakyat can glean the truth about Malaysia’s social, economic and political dynamics.
The two years of PH rule brought about economic and social progress and generated confidence amongst Malaysians and international organisations, such that our country charted significant improvements in several internationally-based indexes. We should consider these aspects when evaluating a government’s successes and failures, along with its strengths and weaknesses.
When the election campaign begins, we will witness more absurdity from our politicians at both ends of the spectrum. By reflecting on what really matters, we may be able to prevent ourselves from being victims of political lies.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.