SINCE Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Vision 2020 during his first tenure in office (1981-2003), every prime minister has tried to push a unique slogan to win public favour.

But slogans have remained just that owing to scandals that overshadowed their promises or their inability to give meaning to the words.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s “Keluarga Malaysia” is turning out to be the same as actions have failed to to match the warm sentiments the slogan implies, political observers said.

Cases in point are his administration’s handling of issues that touch on the rights of minority groups, such as the sale of alcohol and most recently, the lack of consultation with the Hindu community over Covid-19 rules for Thaipusam.

With Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003-2009), it was “Islam Hadhari” while his successor Najib Razak (2009-2018) ran the “1Malaysia” slogan until it became associated with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

When Dr Mahathir returned as prime minister in 2018, the new Pakatan Harapan government stood for “Malaysia Baru”. But before it could take off the government was overturned by defections, leaving the new Malaysia no more than a passing evening shower.

Dr Mahathir’s successor, Muhyiddin Yassin (2020-2021) also had a national slogan but following an abysmal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the public changed the Pagoh MP’s “Kerajaan Prihatin” to “Kerajaan Gagal”.

It was not surprising that Muhyiddin would go on to resign after just 17 months in power.

Following his resignation, Ismail introduced “Keluarga Malaysia” in his first national speech. And throughout the state elections in Malacca and Sarawak, Ismail had attempted to use it too.

Even announcements made by his cabinet members are peppered with the phrase to show that the government makes caring decisions.

No visibility

But despite winning the Malacca and Sarawak polls on that slogan, analysts said the “Keluarga Malaysia” slogan has not taken off.

“Compared to the 1Malaysia slogan, Ismail Sabri’s Keluarga Malaysia lacks substance and tangible programmes,” said International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Dr Lau Zhe Wei.

“Keluarga Malaysia lacks visibility,” said the political science lecturer.

In comparison, Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan, which was alleged to be fashioned after the One Israel campaign, was backed by actual programmes to convince the people before it was overtaken by the 1MDB scandal, Lau said.

“During the Najib administration, there were 1Malaysia clinics, discount stores such as Kedai 1Malaysia although they also flopped, but you don’t see that with Keluarga Malaysia.

“The only times Keluarga Malaysia was prominent was during the election campaigns and perhaps on the flood aid items. But the flood relief packs themselves were overshadowed by the delay in the government’s response to help flood victims,” said Lau.

No substance

Moreover, Lau said Ismail’s handling of religion and race-related issues such as the Timah whisky name, restrictions to restrict the sale of alcohol and the closure of gaming outlets in Kedah, has made the slogan ring hollow.  

“Ismail Sabri has continued to beat the Bumiputera drum while sloganeering with Keluarga Malaysia; he needs to stop avoiding controversial issues when they crop up.

“So far, he has been disappointingly quiet on those matters,” said Lau.

Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi is similarly unimpressed with the new national slogan.

“The national slogan must go beyond political interests in order for it to be accepted by the public,” said the Malay ethnic studies lecturer.

“But the recent changes in leadership has made such slogans seem more political than national,” said Awang Azman.

The Sarawak-born analyst noted that the slogan has had little impact on the ground.

IDr Mahathir’s Vision 2020 was accepted by the people because it captured their imagination when it was introduced, even if it failed to meet its objectives.

People bought Vision 2020 because it involved them and gave them a sense of hope for their future, Awang Azman said.

“We don’t see that with Keluarga Malaysia. If Keluarga Malaysia cannot do that (give people hope), it will fail in the end just like the others,” he said. – January 19, 2022.