ALMOST two years have passed under the Pakatan Harapan administration, with three more to go before we head to the polls.

Though much effort has been made and some progress recorded, there are no warm fuzzy feelings among the electorate, simply because many bread-and-butter issues have yet to be resolved.

Add this to the political cocktail of the less-than-subtle back and forth between people who think Anwar Ibrahim should soon take over as prime minister and those who want Dr Mahathir Mohamad to serve a full term; PKR’s infighting; rising voter dissatisfaction, particularly among the Chinese and Malays; and, growing discontent within the PH rank and file over the pact’s inability to deliver on its promises, or to simply communicate properly.

To their credit, voters and party members have been rather restrained in their remarks on social media and in the press, choosing instead to show their true feelings at the ballot box during by-elections.

The slow-boiling anger, however, may soon reach critical mass. Stop-gap comments and band-aid policies won’t do much any more.

If setting a handover date is what it takes to dial down the temperature, perhaps, a high-level discussion, followed by an announcement, should be made. At the very least, everyone at the highest decision-making level would be on the same page, and everybody else should fall in line. The less is said about what has been decided, the better.

Firm decisions and policies, an action plan to execute them, and sufficient resources, including for contingencies, will have to begin immediately. Quick, visible victories will demonstrate the government’s strong intention to win back the people’s hearts.

Little things that put money back into the people’s pockets should be packaged into easy-to-understand statements to help Malaysians see the bigger picture – which hopefully exists in PH’s plans by now! Budget 2020 has a lot of these, but they need to be executed and explained well.

With limited resources and not much time, the government must quickly strategise and start allaying the public’s fears. Next, it needs to tap into the grassroots to mollify the people’s concerns, some of which are caused by misunderstanding, compounded by organisations that sometimes misread the issues. Unfortunately, these include members of PH parties, who, like the rest of the public, are often kept in the dark.

Take, for example, the toll concession. Removing it completely would of course put a great financial strain on the government, as the maintenance of road infrastructure is expensive.

Putrajaya has to work harder at highlighting its successes – abolishing the goods and services tax, lowering pump prices, reducing the price of many goods, ridding public areas of cigarette smoke, introducing a sugar tax, bringing down public transport prices and toll rates – and at the same time, admit its faults without blaming the previous administration, promise a stronger game, and present a clear plan on how and when to achieve its goals.

Pushing back decisions further and further will only irritate the people. Having a timeline in place will alleviate the uncertainty over the PM’s power transition, providing some comfort that major policies and programmes will continue, regardless of who is in charge.

The media, organisations and individuals with their own agendas will continue to provoke and bait for answers that lead to more questions. That’s their job.

As the government, PH needs to learn to respond collectively, befitting its stature. It must not only function as a capable administration, but be seen as one, to be respected. – January 23, 2020.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.