MALAYSIA’S middle-class can save the country from corruption but they should focus on policies, and not get distracted by political drama, an opposition lawmaker said yesterday.

“I think we are have become consumers of politics. We want to see sensational things happening in politics,” Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said at a forum while justifying why the opposition is making so much “noise”.

“We (the opposition) are responding to a dominant situation. The sign of political maturity should be to talk about policies that make our country better,” he said.

Sim said he tried to make politics “boring” and urged the people to look beyond the drama and focus on a politician’s work.

“Whether BN (Barisan Nasional) or PH (Pakatan Harapan)… what politicians do is what the people want them to do. Forget about (the) drama.

“Look at their work and how they govern the country. It is the substance that matter,” Sim said at the sidelines of a forum titled Can the middle-class save Malaysia? in Petaling Jaya last night.

Sim said one way to overcome the cynicism is to pretend that good governance exists.

“Pretend as if democracy exists in Malaysia. It is very naive but just go all the way. Go campaign as if your vote matters. The least you can do is do not give up hope. (We) cannot be idealistic, but just pretend.”

Meanwhile, Professor Edmund Terence Gomez said a proper institutional framework is needed for the middle-class to bring about change in the next general election (GE14).

The Universiti Malaya professor of political economy said Malaysia needs big ideas to overcome current issues, such as the stagnating income of the middle-class, deplorable quality of education and rising healthcare expenses, among others.

“What is the big idea for a different kind of Malaysia? At least give us ideas and a sense of hope so the young can be inspired that when they vote, they are voting for a change.

“Votes will swing to any party that can come up with these (policies). If poor people look at these policies and see that there are proper policy agendas that can help them, why wouldn’t they vote for the opposition?”

On the definition of “middle class”, Sim said there are many factors behind it, such as their income or aspiration.

“There is not one middle-class in Malaysia, but rather middle-classes,” said Sim.

As for Gomez, he defined the middle-class as individuals who received a good education as it is an “important mechanism” which can be used to enlighten people. – October 13, 2017.