AYER KEROH: Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil has apologised to PKR members for the Federal Government not being able to adequately communicate its achievements and policies to the public, saying emotions can sometimes outweigh performance.
The PKR information chief acknowledged that many policy successes under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had not been sufficiently understood or felt by the people.
“I would like to take this opportunity, as the Information chief, to apologise to all delegates, representatives and leaders for our shortcomings in communication and information dissemination.
“My team and I have been listening. Many feel that the government’s achievements and policy successes under our party president have not been sufficiently understood or felt by the majority of the people,” he said.
Speaking during his winding-up speech at the 2026 PKR National Congress on Saturday (Aug 15), Fahmi noted that following recent state elections, communication dynamics had shifted toward emotion over performance.
His statement follows comments by Anwar, who acknowledged during his policy speech on Friday (Aug 14) that strong economic figures alone were insufficient if the Federal Government failed to connect with the public.
Fahmi said strong indicators in second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6%, investment, trade, international reserves and revenue often felt distant to ordinary households.
He described these metrics as the “pot economy”, representing macroeconomic foundations that do not directly address daily household concerns.
“Pot economy refers to the basic ingredients, but these are macroeconomic matters that may seem distant from us. They describe the current state of the ecosystem, but they are not felt in our stomachs,” he said.
He stressed that addressing immediate livelihood challenges and emotional concerns would be the priority for his team moving forward.
“What has been provided is not reaching their stomachs and therefore not reaching their hearts. So we need to manage both the emotions and the problems affecting the people’s livelihoods,” he added.
