IF Gerakan’s Pakatan Harapan Policies Monitoring quarterly report is anything to go by, more and more people are unhappy with the government’s policies and decisions.

The report unveiled by the opposition party today said in the last three months, more people had negative and mixed feelings about the government’s policies and decisions than positive views.

In January, positive and mixed views both came up to 41%, compared to 18% negative. In February, it was 33.3% across the board. 

But last month, 55.2% and 20.7% had mixed and negative views respectively. Only 24.1% felt positive about PH.

Overall, for the three months, 46.1% had mixed views and 22.2% had negative views of PH’s policies and decisions, compared to 31.7% positive views.

“We call on the PH government to improve consistency in policymaking and decision-making to better serve the people and the country, as aspired by the coalition, based on its own manifesto,” Gerakan president Dr Dominic Lau said.

The Gerakan survey looked at 63 policies or decisions made by the government from January to March this year, and various groups, like civil society members, policy experts and the public were asked how they viewed them.

The people’s assessment were based on their opinion of PH’s commitment to its 14^th general election manifesto, the implementation of the policies or decisions, and how the public responded to them.

If the policy or decision was “generally committed” to the manifesto, and implemented and received well by the people, the assessment is categorised as positive.

Policies and decisions people were happy with in the last three months included the Education Ministry’s outline of nine interventions to reduce the burden of teachers, the RM8,000 MySalam scheme for B40 folk, and the RM1 billion fund by Bank Negara to assist low-income Malaysians buy homes.

Other “positive” policies were the one million affordable home plan in 10 years, the Bantuan Sara Hidup (Cost of Living Aid) programme, capping the RON95 retail price at RM2.08, allowing stateless children to enrol in schools, setting up the media council, making child seats mandatory in cars and abolishing the death penalty.

If the policy or decision was only “partially committed”, with the people having mixed feelings about it, the assessment was considered mixed.

Policies that fell under this category were sex education in schools, the weekly petrol price float system, the new PT3 (Form Three Assessment) system to be introduced next year, and the strict standard operating procedure for bauxite export.

Meanwhile, policies that “failed” the PH manifesto, unimplemented and not well-received by the public were categorised as negative.

Such policies included the government’s failure to repeal oppressive laws, making political appointments, U-turns on the sectoral-based minimum wage, and planning to develop a flying car.

“The PH government should pay serious attention to these policies and decisions, review and reconsider them for the nation’s interest, and do the necessary to address shortcomings in policymaking, practice and governance.”

Gerakan did not reveal how many people they surveyed, except that respondents were from around the country and that they were asked through social media, polls and face-to-face interviews.

Gerakan said it also analysed sources like news reports and government policy documents until March 31 to draw up the “PH report card”.

The party was part of the Barisan Nasional government and coalition, but quit the bloc soon after GE14.

It is now an independent opposition party to check the current PH administration, which will mark its first anniversary in Putrajaya on May 9. – April 12, 2019.