`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

How do we restore the people’s confidence in gov’t?

There is a dire need for the government to address the current “confidence deficit” of the people, with solid workable solutions
COMMENT
najib,-putrajaya3
By Ramon Navaratanam
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s speech at a monthly gathering at the PM’s office and Hari Raya Open House on August 3, was welcome for two good reasons.
Firstly, he said there was a dire need to restore the people’s confidence in government.
Secondly, in the true spirit of Hari Raya, he humbly apologised for any mistakes and misjudgements that he and his Second Minister of Finance Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah may have committed.
How do we restore the people’s confidence in government?
On the first point, the PM makes the commendable admission that there is indeed a “confidence deficit” which had to be addressed with a strong political will. Now with the new Cabinet, our people expect a new style, a new direction and a renewed determination to improve this “deficit”.
1. The government can decide that the new tough-talking Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, can give more space for Malaysians to exercise their basic Freedom of Assembly and Speech and encourage legitimate criticism. Malaysians should not be led to believe and perceive that they cannot provide constructive comments on the formulation and implementation of government policies.
2. The Ringgit’s decline is staring us in the face every day and we regret that it continues to fall. This has an adverse impact on our cost of living, largely due to imported inflation. The rakyat will suffer from paying higher prices for their daily needs and this can and has eroded public confidence.
The slide of the Ringgit is a reflection of the low public confidence in our overall quality of governance and economic and financial management.
Hence, I would urge the Government to present a White Paper to Parliament or outline an Economic Plan on how to deal with these current challenges. As of now, the public is still in the dark as to how the government plans to arrest the steady fall of the Ringgit, which does not seem to be a temporary phenomenon anymore.
We should not intervene to break the fall in the Ringgit as our reserves will soon decline below the USD100 billion threshold. The present levels can diminish fast and must be conserved. Since the ringgit’s decline is also probably due to structural weaknesses in the economy, we have to consider and adopt more meaningful economic transformation measures to restore longer term confidence in our economy.
This economic transformation would mean a greater commitment to the full implementation of the New Economic Model and a faster phasing out of the New Economic Policy or the strong protective elements that it still contains. We need to be more competitive and meritocratic in facing rising global challenges.
3. Most of the “confidence deficit” and its dire consequences are felt by the bottom 40 per cent of our income group. Hence the priority in the 11th Malaysia Plan to help the poor and low income groups, has to be speeded up, with concrete measures that can really benefit the poor at the grassroots level. This will cover especially the poorest areas like Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The Ministry of Urban Well Being, Housing and Local Government has to give a stronger push to alleviate urban poverty as well, which can be often more severe and punishing than rural poverty. At least in the rural areas, one can live off the land and not have to starve or suffer other forms of acute deprivation.
4. The relative poor quality of education in schools and even universities is a source of much concern to parents and children. Our international academic scores are comparatively low. Over 100,000 university graduates remain unemployed. Ironically, there is a crying demand for good critical thinking and English educated graduates and those with technical skills. Thus there is a serious “mismatch” that must be urgently addressed. We cannot afford the luxury of taking slow action. The world is passing us by more rapidly than ever before not only in education but in all other areas.
5. Our political leaders from all quarters need to spend more time on seeking to improve the welfare of all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, rather than indulge in unproductive politicking. The people are frankly just fed up, with politicians who spew racism and religious bigotry. The government has to stoutly oppose extremism, instead of sometimes pandering to some extremist views. Confidence in government will decline due to selective action and justice.
In fact it is this lack of firm action against extremists and the lack of protection for good and peaceful moderates, that causes much uncertainty and low confidence in our beloved country today. The government has to be, as our new DPM rightly said, firm and fair. However this worthy maxim should be proven in action and not in words alone. The people’s confidence will largely depend on how the rule of law is administered, without fear or favour, and they will make their judgements accordingly, soon enough.
B) PM’s apologies
On the second point of our Prime Minister’s speech, it is essential that while in the spirit of Hari Raya and our own religious values, we must all learn to forgive and forget. We also must remember to rectify our mistakes – and resolve, not to repeat them, as well. Hopefully the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) problems that are a major cause of the “confidence deficit”, will be resolved sooner rather than later.
The revelation that the RM2.6 billion, alleged to have been deposited into our prime minister’s private bank accounts, was from donors and not taken from 1MDB, is indeed reassuring. However one wonders why this critical information was not forthcoming much earlier. However now the public will want to know who the major donors were, not only to 1MDB, but to all other political funds on both sides of the House.
Transparency and integrity are basic prerequisites of good governance, which strengthens and sustains public confidence in government and good governance. Hence they must be upheld at all costs and at all times, to strengthen our very foundations as a progressive and successful nation and not one that is failing.
C) Conclusion
The above list of proposals to restore confidence in government is not exhaustive. However we can make a sincere start with the above proposals and add on as we progress so that our government will not only be able to generate but win more confidence as soon as possible.
Let us all then rededicate ourselves to work in unity for better governance, for a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, please. This will greatly raise our confidence in government and in our beloved country.
Ramon Navaratanam is chairman of the Asli Center of Public Policy Studies.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.