Build on progress after GE14

I WISH to add to what my colleague Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam wrote in “Keep hate politics out of GE14” (The Star, Jan 9). This is a timely reminder because we need not only to show to ourselves that we are now a mature democracy but also to prove to the extremists that the election process is the best way to decide on the country’s political leadership. We should show we are a model Muslim- majority country which practises the freedom of political choice in a respectable manner.

Malaysians hope that the government of the day will build on the success of the recent reforms and move on to the next phase for creating a clean and responsible government with the authorities being transparent and accountable on all areas of public policy. These include the economic and financial management of the country and the administration of Islam. The reforms should address public concerns over the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy, the lack of checks and balance among the institutions of government, and the erosion on the basic rights of citizens under the Constitution.