THE prices of food and other household necessities can be brought under control within the next six months as the government shifts its focus from institutional reforms to bread-and-butter issues, said Daim Zainuddin.

The former Council of Eminent Persons chairman said during the first year of Pakatan Harapan’s rule, the coalition had to reform key institutions critical to bringing the country back on track after years of misrule by Najib Razak.

These institutions included law enforcement agencies, Parliament, the judiciary and the civil service, said Daim, adding that these institutions were “over-ruled” by the former Barisan Nasional administration.

The first few months after PH’s election victory in 2018, a lot of attention had to be put into calming the market as businesses and investors were totally unprepared for a shift in government after 61 years of BN rule, he said.

Now that the market and the civil service have adjusted to the reality that this administration is here to stay, PH can focus more on lowering the cost of living for Malaysians, he said.

“The rakyat do not think (institutional reforms) are important, they are impatient. But BN destroyed these institutions,” Daim told The Malaysian Insight during an interview in conjunction with the first anniversary of the PH government.

“In order to have a strong democracy, you have to have strong institutions.”

The government also had to focus on rescuing Felda and Tabung Haji, two institutions that are important to Malays.

“So that was the priority for the last one year. The attention was just on that. So now we can address bread-and-butter issues,” Daim said.

A Merdeka Centre survey recently revealed that the governments’ approval rating after its one year in office plunged to 39% from a high of 60% when PH first took power one year ago.

Much of the anger towards the new government is directed at the fact that the economy has not improved despite the fact that PH promised in the GE14 campaign that the prices of goods will stabilise once it is in power.

In the interview, Daim repeated what he told an audience in Terengganu last month that the government will be able to fulfil its promise to bring down the prices of some goods in the next six months.

“Food prices can be brought down in the next six months,” Daim told TMI.

He added that there are several “easier” policies the government can start on for this purpose, such as cutting down on the number of school supplies and uniforms parents are required to buy for their children.

“These things may seem small but they are impactful. Did you know some parents have to spend up to RM600 to buy uniforms if their child is a prefect? This is ridiculous.”

The government should also look into lowering toll rates in the city to reduce the burden for urban folk.

“Even if you can’t lower tolls for all highways, at least start with the most-used highways first. This can and should be done as soon as possible.”

He added that the government is already looking into the supply chain of wholesalers, transporters and retailers to reduce the cost of bringing fresh food from the farm to the table. – May 9, 2019.