THE prime minister, by ignoring five big failures and giving ministers a 90% grade on the government’s 100-day report card, has undermined Putrajaya’s credibility, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.

He said Ismail Sabri Yaakob has made a complete mockery of the term “report card” by giving his cabinet a score of 90% despite the failures under his leadership.

“Even school children are asking how you can mark and score your own report card, when it should be done by independent and separate assessors,” Lim, the Bagan MP and former finance minister, said in a statement today.

Ismail, who was sworn in as the country’s ninth prime minister on August 21, last week gave his cabinet a 90% “pass” in conjunction with his government’s 100 days in power.

Among the five failures Lim highlighted was Ismail’s inability to improve the country’s economy as well as the economic wellbeing of the public. 

He said instead, the public is made to suffer as prices of food and daily necessities have skyrocketed. 

“Both meat and vegetable prices have gone up but vegetable prices for the first time were more expensive than meat. There is genuine concern that inflation will continue to be unmanageable spilling over to next year and even lead to food shortages,” the DAP lawmaker said. 

Next, he highlighted the government’s failure to comply with Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) when organising its mega 100-day Aspirasi Keluarga event at KLCC, which attracted a huge crowd.

Lim also questioned the government’s double-standard practices whereby the event organiser was fined RM1,000 but ministers and political leaders who attended got off scot-free.

“The 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia in KLCC to mark Ismail’s 100-day report card with the main attraction being the huge 80% discount offered for police and Road Transport Department summons, drew huge crowds that ignored Covid-19 SOP.

“Even the Malaysia Medical Association has blamed poor planning and questioned why such discounts cannot be processed online but force the rakyat’s physical presence just to attend the event and expose them to the risk of Covid-19. 

“The official penalty of a mere RM1,000 fine to the organisers for breaching the SOP is a double-standard practice when compared to opposition MPs being fined individually. (Hence) every minister and political leader present in KLCC should be summoned. 

“To prevent scepticism that this huge 80% discount is offered for the first time to attract crowds to the event, the discount should be continued for those who make payments within a week and that is processed online,” Lim said. 

Lim, the former Penang chief minister, said Ismail also failed in professionalism and good governance by politicising posts and positions with a record number of appointments of ministers, special envoys and special advisers with high salaries and luxury vehicles provided with minimal returns in performance.

He said politicians with no qualifications except their loyalty to the prime minister were appointed to senior positions in government-linked corporations managing tens of billions of ringgit of public funds. 

He also claimed that many agencies including both Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission and police have been weaponised against political opponents.

Outlining the fourth failure, Lim said there was no new forward plan to address the poor internet coverage and low internet speed by adhering to the principles of accountability and transparency.

“Ismail had missed a golden opportunity to push forward the 5G programme and also provide a cabotage exemption for submarine cable repairs as requested by Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Google,” he said. 

Finally, Lim said Ismail’s Keluarga Malaysia mantra had no credibility when the latter practices “divide and rule” policies to try to gain political leverage to win Malay votes by marginalising and even neglecting the non-Malay or non-Muslim community. 

Lim said the non-Malays are unhappy with the Budget 2022 allocation, where only RM345 million or 0.1% of the total RM332 billion are allocated for them, despite making up 30% of the country’s population. 

“No one objects to government programmes and policies to help Bumiputeras but to expand at the expense of non-Bumiputeras is contrary to national unity amongst the rakyat and national integration of both Sabah and Sarawak.

“This is shown by the government’s refusal to provide an additional allocation of RM500 million each to Sabah, Sarawak, Malays and non-Malay communities to ensure a balanced and equitable Budget 2022,” Lim said. 

Lim also said the adoption of extremist policies advocated by PAS such as restrictions on gambling, sale of alcohol and beer on non-Muslims has further offended the sensitivities of non-Muslims. – December 12, 2021.