It has been nearly 100 days since Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the 14th General Election (GE14).
In light of this, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) presented a report card discussing the PH government’s progress during their first 100 days at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today (Aug 15).
According to Suaram director Kua Kia Soong, as quoted in The Star, the government has only managed to achieve about 20% of the promises made in their manifesto.
“In the first 100 days of the new Pakatan Government, we find that their report card scored around 20%, based on their own promises.”
“We have also witnessed a disturbing trend of autocratic decision-making and policies, symptomatic of the old Mahathir 1.0 era (in reference to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as prime minister),” he said.
He said that the GE14 victory showed that people wanted change.
“Pakatan said they didn’t expect to win, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to renege on their election promises.”
Suaram project coordinator Dobby Chew, on the other hand, commented that there was more press freedom under the new administration, as reported by FMT.
He added that stakeholders no longer need to be accompanied by an MP to access Parliament.
“There are greater issues that must be addressed by the government,” Chew said, citing the example of the proposed reform of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).
“And detention of juveniles – what is our stance on that? If they are 17 and under detention now, the next four years are critical if we want to prepare them to re-enter society. So far, the home ministry hasn’t spoken about this.”
He further stated that it was acceptable, during the first month, for ministers to claim that they needed some time to take over from the previous administration. However, within three months, they should have formulated a plan of action for the future.
Additionally, Bersih 2.0 acting chairperson Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari commented that the government’s performance was less than satisfactory.
He added that the backbenchers and the opposition party play essential roles in ensuring check and balance in the administration.
What do you think about PH’s 100-day progress?
Also read: PH Needs More Time For 100-Day Promises As Country’s Damage is Worse Than Expected