THE history of Malaysia is replete with calls for reform. Whether the spear of reform is aimed at education, the mindset of Malays or Malaysians, the calls for change have been endless. 

This tradition comports not with Harold Lasswell’s conception of politics as a process of “who gets what, when and why,” but David Easton’s idea of “politics as the authoritative allocation of values.” 

In the case of Muslim reform, for example, the Malay youth, or “kaum Muda” spoke out against the conservatives, or “kaum tua” in the early part of the 1900s. Dissent has always been tolerated and accepted. The authorities, including colonial ones, listened to the grouses of the public, irrespective of class, race and creed, except the far left, who were Communists.

Even then there were efforts to engage the leading stalwarts of communism, especially Chin Peng, by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1950, in Baling Kedah, years before Malaya was given its independence in 1957, to the degree the Communist members insisted on joining the political process of Malaya, then Malaysia.  But that was where the Rahman government drew the line. 

There have been efforts to listen to the proponents of the Malaysia Agreement 1963. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is working systematically to make sure Sarawak and Sabah are as important as Peninsula Malaysia.

Such efforts imply that the Anwar administration is not averse to listening to the grouses of the people.

That is because the Madani government is “Eastonian” in thrust. Instead of stifling all dissent, the government has been doing nothing but lead and listen.

Prices of food, fuel, fertiliser and animal feed continue to spiral upward because of events external to Malaysia, such as the war in Ukraine and, consequently, India’s embargo on rice exports. This is despite moderating inflation in Malaysia. Indeed, one should look no further than Malaysia and the world’s exposure to the tightening of oil supply by the member states of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia.

The critics, such as Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahamn, who say that the prime minister is not doing anything tangible must oblivious to the foreign direct investments (FDI) that have begun to stream into Malaysia.

Tesla, Amazon and Geely combined are investing more than US$50 billion in Malaysia. All three surely must be aware of the review of the 12th Industrial Master Plan of Malaysia and the National Energy Strategic Transition 2050.

Reform is at work when the fiscal deficit of Malaysia is reduced from 5.6% last year to 5% this year. It is projected to drop to 3.2% by 2025 if not by 2024.

Malaysia’s inflation rate moderated to 2% in August, unchanged from the previous month. That notwithstanding, more efforts are needed to reduce the costs of living, specifically food and beverages. It was announced in parliament that the Malaysian Food Security Agency would be set up to reduce over-reliance on imports.

All such efforts imply that Anwar, who is concurrently the finance minister, does understand how to allocate the most important resources, all of which are scarce, to the key actors and sectors. These “authoritative allocation of values,” can keep Malaysia afloat amid a necessity of drastic changes, such as the disasters brought about by high rainfall, the likes of which had, time and again, caused severe flash floods, even landslides.

To those who argue that the Printing Presses and Publications and the Sedition Act have not been reformed, one needs to keep in mind that this government is less than a year old.

There may or may not be elements within the unity government which are not in favour of amending these legislations, in which case Anwar must exercise extreme caution by making economic reforms the wisest first step forward. 

“Authoritative allocation of values” suggests a government works on the basis of evidence-based results. Entities such as Emir Research and Ilham Centre of Research are not averse to allowing the government to know whether it has been performing.

This is the feedback mechanism that the Anwar government has adopted aside from listening to the feedback of the government machineries. To say that the government does nothing but talk is not only unfair but reeks of self-interest to pressure the government into doing what the accuser would like to it to do. 

It must emphasised that the present Anwar Ibrahim administration has inherited RM1.5 trillion of debts,  not forgetting the RM4.5 trillion economic losses of the past 26 years through corruption and leakages as was written by Emir Research (“Malaysian Monetary Loss to Corruption and Leakages – RM4.5 Trillion over 26 years”).

The Anwar administration must stock of what has been inherited, understand ground realities and navigate tactfully so that it stays the course of reforms in a pragmatic way to achieve the intended reform outcomes. Initial euphoria and drastic and swift changes will only invite negative reactions and pushbacks from the majority Malays, aided and fuelled by opposition politicians who thrive on identity politics of race and religion. After all, Rome was not built in a day, what more a Rome with decades of decadence! – September 25, 2023.

* Rais Hussin is Emir Research president and CEO.