THERE is a worrying trend of slow progress in the overall performance of Pakatan Harapan’s political and institutional reforms, said a civil society group in its report on its first year in government.

The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) said progress has been notably slow in areas of reform that do not require further study, time, or constitutional amendments.

“The lack of transparency around the steps or measures that ought to be taken to put in place the promised reforms raises concerns about the government’s commitment to changing the regressive culture of secrecy that is deeply embedded in our country’s governance.

“The backsliding on crucial reforms, for example, the urgent need to revise a number of laws that infringe on the right to information can be clearly seen in the continued use of the draconian OSA which has been invoked to refuse disclosure of the Council of Eminent Persons report,” it said in a report released yesterday.

C4 Centre said delays, U-turns and inaction in realising these reforms appear commonplace with the government failing to formulate and provide a clear and concrete roadmap for the implementation of the proposed reforms.

The report said these U-turns showed some old practices inherited from the Barisan Nasional administration were still in practise, and is undoubtedly a cause for concern.

The centre said the PH government should deliver the good governance which it had promised to win the last general election.

“The promises in the election manifesto which have been subsequently translated into national policies such as the Mid-Term Review and the National Anti Corruption Plan (NACP) must be unconditionally implemented.

“The commitments embodied in these policies should have not been treated as promises to just win the elections. Consultations with stakeholders are key and must be stepped up to speed up the process of implementing the promised reforms.”

C4 Centre has also introduced its PH Litmus Tracker, a monitoring mechanism that will keep track of the government’s performance over the next year.

This tracker will serve as a repository of articles and updates on the NACP and the progress, or the lack of it, on its governance, political and institutional reforms.

It seeks to serve as a reminder for the government to go back to its initial commitments and do the right thing, said C4 Centre.

In the tracker, C4 Centre has looked into 16 promises made in the election manifesto which correspond with the six strategies embodied in the NACP – promises and strategies related to institutional and political reforms. – May 3, 2019.