IT has been eight months since the unity government came into power following the last general election.

Recently I asked my brother-in-law, “So, what do you think about the new government?”

He is a businessman running a small small medium enterprise in Malacca and his answer was simple, “Anwar jadi PM pun sama sahaja. Takde apa-apa pun”. (Nothing has changed with Anwar as PM. It’s still the same.)

Honestly, I could not agree with him more. Prior to the polls, there was a wind of excitement culminating in the formation of the unity government.

Many were happy to see Anwar finally realising his dream to become the prime minister.

But sadly, that is where it ends. It was and is his dream, because, to date, the people seen no positive changes.

Many of us are still struggling with the poor economy, while large numbers still jobless and living in poverty.

We were looking forward to much better things under this unity government – something different from what we had under the past administrations.

For many, I guess our expectations were just too high and now we find ourselves face down in the mud.

What has happened so far? Well, for a start, we have a deputy prime minister tainted with allegations of corruption, a human resources minister who till now does not appear to know right from wrong, clueless health and education ministers, followed by uncalled-for raids on a popular watch outlet.

In fact, the situation has reached levels where some are calling for Muhyiddin Yassin to become prime minister again as the economy was better under him.

I don’t know about the rest of the voters, but sadly, the ones I know seem to be on the lookout for an alternative who can better serve their needs.

For the man on the street, it is all about having a comfortable life and putting food on the table. 

Sadly, this is not happening and most of the current ministers seem too caught up in their own messes.

Also, I find it hard to justify calling the current administration a unity government. 

Where is the unity? We still have Umno members belittling Anwar and making regular scathing attacks against him.

To many of us, we just perceive the current administration as one hanging on to power, which may quickly fall apart following the continued discontent among the public.

The truth is the unity government is crumbling and in reality, the Malays are not hardline and do not want the Talibanisation of Malaysia.

They are merely disgruntled with the economy and the hypocrisy in the political path that the unity government has chosen.

I believe all Malaysians want a solid economic guarantee: if PAS can guarantee this, we are prepared to explore alternatives.

You cannot fault us for doing this as the unity government continues making hollow promises and harps on a compassionate Madani economy yet they do not walk the talk, and things are just getting worse. – June 23, 2023.

* Kamarulzaman Mohd Nazeem reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.