DR Mahathir Mohamad may be under pressure from some in PKR to quickly hand over power to his successor, but analysts agree with the prime minister that Malaysians will only see the impact of Pakatan Harapan’s reforms in two years.

It is a realistic time frame for the PH government’s policies to bear fruit, they said, rather than the expectation of immediate changes.

Impatient citizens must also understand that some of the pact’s manifesto promises cannot be implemented in a vacuum, as they involve problems with the economy, government finances and public administration, added the experts.

Dr Mahathir, responding to criticism of the government’s slow pace of reforms and the sluggish economy, had said Malaysians would realise in about two years that the PH government had set the country in the right direction.

Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian said the time frame should indicate to people just how serious the government’s problems are.

“People only pay attention to the issues that involve them, such as PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loans, cash aid handouts like Bantuan Sara Hidup, and cost-of-living issues.

“The situation is made more challenging (for the government) because people cannot see that the efforts will take time, especially to overcome the country’s financial issues.”

Reforms will also require changes to the way the government functions, and Malaysians must bear in mind that PH inherited an administration with an entrenched Barisan Nasional culture, he said.

On top of that is the barrage of racial and religious rhetoric from the Malay opposition.

“PH inherited a government that has serious problems in its operations and public spending, which swallowed almost all of the government’s revenue. And yet, they still have to fulfil the promises they made in the 14th general election,” said Ibrahim.

“At the same time, PH is faced with a Malay opposition that is using race and religion in their criticism of the government.”

He believes that Putrajaya’s direction for the country is clear, with its priority being to restore the nation’s finances and manage spending, while correcting operational weaknesses.

“It’s clear. It’s just that the direction is clouded by the politics.”

Malay studies academic Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Dr Mahathir was being realistic by telling the public to be patient.

He agreed that PH’s direction for the country is clear, and said people just want to see things done quickly.

Institutional reforms are also taking place, but they do not seem as comprehensive or thorough as promised, said the Universiti Malaya associate professor.

“There have been reforms, such as lowering the voting age to 18.

“However, there are other reforms, which, although instituted, have not happened as promised, such as appointments to key posts like Election Commission commissioners, the anti-graft agency chief commissioner, which were supposed to go through the parliamentary select committee on major appointments.”

Another promised reform is political funding, on which PH has been mostly silent.

Awang Azman said this could be because the proposed reforms to political funding are seen as “something not advantageous to political parties that are not used to greater transparency”.

Putrajaya may have sold to the public its Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV 2030) as the new blueprint for Malaysia to achieve development, sustainable growth and equitable wealth, he said, but this is not seen as something new.

SPV 2030’s implementation plan also appears muddled, or too large a venture, for the people to grasp in total.

“So, people are pessimistic and see SPV 2030 as something to distract the public’s attention from other problems PH is facing,” said Awang Azman.

As such, communication remains a challenge for the pact, to explain, clarify and cast its vision in terms that Malaysians can relate to and understand. – January 15, 2020.