Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar

THE just-concluded Johor polls, where Barisan Nasional (BN) won a supermajority of 40 seats, had seen predictable verbal attacks being waged between competing parties, a few of which had reached an amazing height.

A case in point is the altercation between Johor caretaker Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad and PAS vice president Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

In their exchanges, neighbouring Singapore somehow came to the fore – so much so that the republic’s Parliament House was brought down, so to speak.

Well, at least that was what was implied in a parody that went viral soon after Hasni said that Singapore would have been better developed had Umno ruled the island state.

The posting mischievously read: “The Singapore parliamentary session had to be temporarily suspended today after all ministers couldn’t stop laughing after hearing the joke of the century that Singapore would be more developed if led by Umno.”

Hasni was rebutting Nik Mohd Amar, who argued that Singapore was more developed than Malaysia because there was no Umno in the island state. 

To be sure, this was the kind of “friendly fire” between contending parties in the Johor elections, which ironically are glued together for now by the collective desire to maintain federal power in Putrajaya.

It boggles the mind, though, to witness two experienced politicians using a foreign country’s rate of development to score brownie points instead of staying focused on how to revive the economy of Johor in particular and of Malaysia generally in the midst of the epidemic and political instability brought on by the shenanigans of certain politicians.

What is puzzling is that Hasni, who is slated to be the next Johor menteri besar after BN’s big win in the polls, had frowned upon the achievements of Johor’s immediate neighbour, whose citizens’ quality of life is by and large streets ahead of Malaysia’s. This is indicated by, say, its higher living standards and better and accessible public transport. 

And corruption, which adversely affects good governance, administrative efficiency and public coffers for national development, reportedly has been kept at a safe distance in the island republic.

In contrast, Malaysia would have achieved a lot more had it not been bedevilled by, among other factors, corruption particularly at high places, the biggest example of which is the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal that rocked the country.

Furthermore, the disparity between the rich and the poor in Malaysia has yawned over the years, while the education and healthcare systems need fixing.

In the meantime, Asean countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, are fast making great strides in many areas of development, to the point some observers contend Malaysia may be left behind if its own political and economic problems are not sorted out quickly and effectively.  

Put another way, Hasni, in his haste to counter arguments of his opponents, should not have said things in public that would give an impression that he is out of his depth on important things about our neighbouring countries, especially next-door Singapore.

As for Nik Mohd Amar, who is apparently in awe of Singapore’s success, it would be more fruitful for him and his colleagues to find ways and means to develop his Kelantan state, which happens to be one of the poorest in the federation after more than 60 years of the country’s independence.

In this regard, the Kelantan deputy menteri besar may want to get tips on improving people’s living standards, as well as fix the state’s perennial problem of water supply from the Singapore government that, incidentally, consists of largely what his Islamist party would term as infidel ministers.

Doing such positive things would not only benefit the rakyat, but also would help prevent our politicians from grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons, as a few tend to do. – March 13, 2022.