WHAT does it take to get some coherence and consistency in the government? 

The controversially withdrawn critical service allowances has been reinstated in a matter of 24 hours. The police have obtained a court order to stop Chinese educationists from holding a contentious congress on Jawi classes.

In some ways, the headlines have not changed despite the change of coalitions ruling Malaysia. Flip-flops have occurred during the Barisan Nasional (BN) rule and it continues in the 19 months that Pakatan Harapan (PH) has run the country.

Today’s reinstatement of critical allowances for junior clinicians is a classic flip-flop worthy of being seen as a wayang. The Public Services Department (PSD) had said the critical allowances were unnecessary as there are more than enough professionals in the service.

In fact, there has been a deluge of applications. And the allowances were never meant to be permanent. The cabinet agreed to stopping the allowances for the latest recruits. But the withdrawal led to an uproar and Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman took to social media and promised to get the order rescinded.

He was successful and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stopped the withdrawal of allowances. Good for the junior clinicians, bad for the mandarins in the civil service who did a thorough study and decided to save some public funds.

What does this episode say of the latest Mahathir administration? That cabinet meetings are held, decisions made and agreed but some ministers are either unaware or do not read the minutes and act when prompted by public uproar and outrage.

Was the PSD wrong to propose cutting the allowances? Should such critical  allowances continue even if there is no necessity for it in a country with too many medical graduates and too few postings? Did the cabinet discuss the proposed cuts at length? 

The previous flip-flops include withdrawing the recognition for The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and deferring the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill from the last parliament sitting.

What does this say of the PH government and are they any different from the BN government that lost the 2018 vote due to their kleptocratic ways and detachment from reality?

During this year’s fasting month, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu met the media and acknowledged that the PH government had not done as well as expected by voters when compared to the previous BN government. 

Mohamad asked for time and added the main thing was PH had not learnt to steal unlike their predecessors.True. But they have learnt to break their word.

Some promises remain unfulfilled. Flip-flops occasionally occur. Race and religion continue to be exploited. Days from 2020 and Malaysians see that politicians still resort to populist drama to get and keep support.

The reality is the majority of Malaysians who voted for a new government want integrity and honesty. They want consistency, coherence and communication. 

They want leadership, not a public show of concern and action after decisions made earlier are unpopular. 

The message is simple – make a decision and stick to it, not switch for fear of losing support and the next election. Malaysians want performance, not showmanship! – December 27, 2019.