Clock is ticking for more reforms

THE popular adage reads, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But in Malaysia’s case, there’s a lot that needs to be fixed.

To put it simply, the “government knows best” approach isn’t working. What we have now is a lot of good soundbites, lofty goals and initiatives that are supposed to be put in place that hopefully will lead to a better future for all of us.

The operative word here is hopefully, because the government expects the rakyat to be as patient with the lacklustre economy as they are with the slow progress of much talked about reforms.

In my view, there are three fundamental issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Governance, corruption and education.

Barring any other eventuality, the Madani government has at least three and a half years before GE16 is called. This is the time to push ahead with reforms, because a lot can still be achieved in these next few years.

A better form of governance than previous administrations has always been the rallying cry of this Prime Minister’s Cabinet, but we have yet to see any meaningful changes.

For instance, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) continue to report to the PM. This system calls into question the independence of both these bodies.

The Opposition has accused PMX of political prosecution over the recent high-profile investigations of politicians, both former and current. Placing the AGC and the MACC under parliamentary purview will effectively remove these accusations.

And speaking of Parliament, it is high time the parliamentary select committee (PSC) sittings be opened to the public. These sittings have been shrouded in secrecy for far too long. For example, we are still in the dark about what happened during the 1MDB sitting when numerous individuals were called in to give their statements.

Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh retired as Election Commission (EC) chairman after four years at the helm last week. It is of paramount importance that the government appoints a non-politician with impeccable credentials as his replacement. This will once again demonstrate the importance of the EC.

And the last reform that I personally would like to see instituted is the abolition of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984. And this repeal should go in tandem with amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).

Both these Acts are archaic pieces of legislation that have no place in this modern digital age. The proposed replacement of a Malaysian Media Council as an independent body without interference from the government will do much to improve the country’s position on the World Media Freedom Index.

The second issue that needs to be addressed is corruption. To be fair, there has been headway made in this regard, because the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023 announced in January shows that Malaysia managed to improve from 61st to 57th position out of 180 countries, as well as improve its score from 47 to 50, an increase of three points after a downward trend since 2019.

Some of the reasons that contributed to the increase in the scores are the investigations, arrests and convictions of high-profile cases over the past two years.

But more needs to be done because corruption has infused every layer of society, both in the public and private sector.

The MACC that is answerable to Parliament must now be empowered to eliminate any form of corruption, abuse of power and misappropriation of taxpayer’s money. Action should be taken against anyone involved in the above, regardless of position or standing in society.

The last issue that needs to be addressed soon is also the toughest. It is no secret that our education system lags behind our neighbours. The PM himself has called the state of education in the country the “worst in Asean”.

That’s not a surprise. For example mathematics. The latest education rankings show that we have fallen behind Brunei, Vietnam and Singapore.

We need to call a spade a spade. Our education policies have failed our children. Hence the thriving and parallel private school system. It is the public schools that need to be fixed urgently.

But decades of mismanagement, not to mention misguided policies, means that it is going to take a major overhaul and political will to effect long lasting changes.

And this must start with the type of teachers that our schools need. They must be trained to play a crucial role in moulding the minds of the youngsters, providing them with knowledge, skills and values that shape their lives.

This then is the state of our nation. Am I being overly pessimistic? I hope not because we still have a lot going for us. The problems we face are not insurmountable. Real, meaningful changes can be made if the government has the political will to do so.