Sinking feeling about our politicians

Public opinion about politics and politicians is at an all-time low with many claiming to be disappointed and disillusioned with both sides of the political divide.

ONLY one MP in the whole country has voiced support for the call to remove the pension scheme for MPs.

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman is also advocating a transition to an EPF scheme for MPs in the wake of the debate sparked by reports of their generous pensions, cushy salaries and a delicious string of allowances and privileges.

This becomes harder to swallow when compared to the pensions of civil servants whose lifelong service earns them a fraction of what our wakil rakyat gets.

Malaysiakini’s in-depth look into the earnings and perks of MPs has drawn an outcry of sorts with its online polls resulting in more than 90% of its readers in favour of replacing pensions for an EPF scheme and also for MPs who are drawing multiple pensions to choose only a single pension.

But it would require MPs voting to curtail their own earnings and that is unlikely to happen even if the cow jumps over the moon.

All this might have been tolerable if not for the less than impressive performance of many MPs, as lawyer and activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan put it.

As such it is with a sense of sacrifice that Syed Saddiq is speaking up. The former minister is also currently on a journey to run 200km from Muar to Parliament to raise funds and protest the deprivation of constituency allocations to opposition MPs.

Too few MPs have lived up to the expectations of voters and even at this moment, six MPs are shamelessly challenging the Anti-Hopping legislation that was aimed at greater integrity among elected lawmakers.

Political figures have lost the moral high ground and are no longer able to preach about issues like corruption, good governance or press freedom.

Terengganu-based researcher Dr Azmi Omar still remembers the feverish days leading to the change of government in 2018.

“The people at the election rallies, you could see they believed something wonderful was going to happen. Two words captured hearts and minds back then - selamatkan Malaysia (save Malaysia).

“Even those in Terengganu had high hopes about PAS but things are almost at a standstill. State leaders say there are no funds for development after the royalties stopped. The real losers are the rakyat. Am I sad, worried or disillusioned? All of the above,” said Dr Azmi.

Some politicians lost their hero status after coming to power. Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli is having a hard time living up to the sky-high expectations of his supporters.

Rafizi is probably trying his best but where was he supposed to hang his credibility when Tan Sri Azam Baki, whom he vowed to hunt right down to the “lubang cacing” or wormhole, was reappointed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissioner for the second year in a row?

Pakatan Harapan’s most self-righteous voice, Hannah Yeoh, has also been tested as Youth and Sports Minister. Yeoh is a cut above many around her but the portfolio was a poor fit for her from the start and her habit of deflecting blame has become a troublesome pattern.

However, the ultimate fall from grace came from her reluctance to address the issue of her husband’s company securing a project from the Selangor government.

The grand promises made during Pakatan’s road to power require time to materialise but unfortunately, the average person imagines that policies are like instant noodles to be cooked and served in an instant.

Author and social historian Eddin Khoo sees the series of let-downs as a crisis in our political culture.

“There is a social disconnect between ordinary people who are struggling with their everyday lives and those at the administrative and political levels.

“Change is slow because the old political culture is still quite entrenched and the people who are supposed to change things are enjoying the old ways of staying in control,” said Khoo.

The last few by-elections have seen a worrying trend where many voted for a certain coalition not because they believe in it but out of fear or dislike for the other side.

“The aspirational dimension in our public life is gone,” said Khoo.

Lawyer Khaw Veon Szu said it is dangerous to think that there are saints or angels in politics.

“Most politicians are the same when they are in power. What we are going through is a learning process of what democracy is about, to not being afraid to make choices.

“We used to fear turmoil if the government changed but we have survived despite so many changes in government and prime ministers,” said Khaw.

And instead of blaming politicians, he said Malaysians should also look within themselves because we put them there. It is time to stop looking at politicians through rose-tinted lenses.

In the run-up to the 2018 general election, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was portrayed as the white knight on a horse arriving to save Malaysia and so was Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim even though he could not contest the election.

Back then, Rafizi and even Nurul Izzah Anwar were regarded as prime minister material.

But so much has changed and a well-placed Putrajaya insider said that privately commissioned polls by two separate political parties - Umno is not one of them - came back with startlingly similar results. Datuk Seri Najib Razak, currently imprisoned, led in the ratings for both polls, with Anwar and Muhyiddin close behind.

According to the insider, it could be that hindsight tends to put things in perspective or it could be nostalgia for a time when life was less of a struggle.

The chilling thing is that there are no visible white knights on the horizon.

Ironically, the personality whom political observers have been watching closely is former minister Khairy Jamaluddin who has used his time in the political wilderness to showcase his opinions, knowledge and ideas on a spectrum of issues.

They agree he has what it takes to lead but without a party to ride on, Khairy is like a white knight without a horse.

The Putrajaya insider said that despite the rumblings out there, the unity government is set to survive a full term.

“But there will be challenges. Politics will be driven by social media. We talk about the green wave but it is going to be the TikTok wave from now on,” said the insider.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own