Philippines News Digest
‘QUICK WIN’ APPROACH GOVERNMENT’S WAY OF TACKLING PRESSING ISSUES – ANALYSTS
Thursday, 22 June 2023

The “quick win” approach adopted in the implementation of various initiatives which offer immediate benefits to the people shows that the Unity Government always has a good feel of the pulse of the people, according to analysts.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s approach in going to the ground to meet people also enables him and the country’s leadership to identify problems quickly and announce the assistance needed by them, said political analyst Dr G. Manimaran.

“The government should continue to introduce quick action plans like the Payung Rahmah initiative to tackle the cost of living issue to ensure the people could get help.

“This is because the people want to see changes implemented by the government, especially relating to economic and cost of living issues. In my opinion, the government now needs to work faster … because everyone is so quick to make judgments,” he told Bernama today.

He said it was not easy to bring about a lot of changes in a short time but stressed that the government was doing its best to fulfil the wishes and needs of the people and the business community.

Manimaran said the history of the country’s administration shows that no previous prime ministers had succeeded in implementing economic governance in a comprehensive manner within seven months.

“From this, we can see that any new leadership would need time to formulate and implement what is required. Certain things can be implemented immediately but some need to be viewed from the macro and micro aspects within the local and foreign contexts, taking into consideration the interests of stakeholders from various backgrounds.

“For example, when the government wanted to introduce corporate liability under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, it could only be done after amendments were made in Parliament and its implementation takes two years,” he said.

According to him, Anwar has introduced reforms in Parliament when the Dewan Rakyat recently debated the Auditor-General’s Report for the first time.

Another analyst, Universiti Sains Malaysia political sociology lecturer Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, said it was unrealistic for people to expect the prime minister to introduce drastic changes in a period of seven months.

However, Anwar has introduced several initiatives which cut through bureaucracy to offer the people immediate benefits in a situation where he needs to harmonise the country’s political situation, tackle the cost of living issue, rejuvenate the economy and combat corruption and leakages, he said.

“In the first phase of the administration, we can see that the prime minister wants to improve governance and the structure of the administrative institution in order to avoid leakages and improve accountability in the government.

"What he is doing is to reduce bureaucracy so that the delivery system will be more transparent, organised and smoother without the obstacles which might have been encountered previously,” Sivamurugan said.

He said an example of the quick relief measure announced by the government was the Inisiatif Kemudahan Rakyat (IKR) involving a RM500 million allocation to implement development and infrastructure maintenance projects in certain localities.

Sivamurugan said no one should be pointing fingers at the prime minister as there were external factors at the regional and global levels, like oil price hikes and wars in other countries, which could affect his efforts to transform the country.

Under Budget 2023, he said, Anwar has shown his caring nature by reaching out to various segments of society, especially the low and middle income groups, with a clear commitment to eradicating poverty.

The Rahmah concept also enables every segment to be given specific attention, like the food, health, housing and work sectors, apart from the MADANI Medical Scheme offering recipients of Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah and the B40 group free medical treatment at private clinics.

Meanwhile, political analyst Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said statements critical of Anwar’s leadership were just the personal views of a handful of people and such claims were not supported by data or studies.

"We can see that the prime minister’s approach has been well received … he has given assistance to the people as a whole. He is focusing on resolving pressing issues, including hardcore poverty involving 130,000 heads of household, the majority of them Malays," he said.

He said the narrative which claimed that Anwar’s leadership lacked support was a propaganda thrown up by his detractors to face the coming state elections.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency