PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has described the Perikatan Nasional government as mediocre and incompetent.

The Port Dickson MP said the incompetency is well-reflected in many of the administration’s policies, which he said were rashly made.

He gave the recent decision to reopen schools when there is a spike in Covid-19 cases and the limit on business hours as examples.

The decisions were rescinded after strong protests.

“The system cannot defend mediocrity,” he said during a livestream session with the Malaysian Council of Professors, or better known by its Malay name Majlis Profesor Negara.

The programme “Bicara Negarawan – Malaysia’s future and where we are heading to” was moderated by Universiti Malaya’s political pundit Muhammad Asri Mohd Ali with questions thrown by the MPN president Raduan Che Rose.

“They want to be a datuk quickly. Even in their 20s, they already set the target: they must become a datuk,” he said referring to the honorific which is bestowed on people who have made attained achievements.

Anwar said the situation should be similar as in academia where the challenge is for academic excellence.

“It’s the same in politics. If there is not genuine efforts to evaluate the performance of our leaders, this is what it will become.

“Mediocre leaders who have no ability to handle problems.”

Anwar accused some ministers of not studying the subject matter at all, criticising those who after a day or two of their appointment “make all kinds of haphazard statements”.

“This is because they are not trained to be a political leader.” – January 23, 2021.