YOURSAY | “Are we genuinely moving toward institutional reform, or simply rearranging the optics?”

On anniversary of 2008 'political tsunami', Chang says reformasi takes time

GoldenParrot4280: Look up the Pakatan Harapan manifesto and compare it with what has been implemented. Quite a number of items have already been completed.

Harapan’s manifesto contains more commitments than BN’s or Perikatan Nasional’s manifestos, I kid you not.

Also, this is a unity government, not a Harapan government. With the unity government, the manifesto is no longer just Harapan’s but a combined one involving Harapan, BN, and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

Some controversial items will naturally face pushback. Look at the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), there was so much resistance.

Undoing decades of damage under BN, and the damage from the last PN/BN government, where one former prime minister is facing charges and another had an aide with millions of ringgit unaccounted for, later forfeited without contest, does take time.

You all say Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must go, but never dare to say who should come next. We have seen how “fantastic” PN was.

Haven't you heard of the saying, Rome was not built in one day?

A lot of these things take time before you see the results and the effects. See the targeted fuel subsidies? Slowly but surely, loopholes are being plugged to prevent leakages to foreign vehicles.

In the past weeks, we’ve seen Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli and those renegade PKR MPs hold Pakatan Harapan and the Madani government to ransom with their demands on the attorney-general and public prosecutor separation of powers bill.

Instead of debating the bill in Parliament and trying to get other MPs on board, they issued an ultimatum: change it, or they won’t vote.

This is why I won’t be voting for Rafizi or those MPs.

I wouldn’t vote for Rafizi because he demanded that the government either charge him or be sued. That is quite unbelievable. The old Rafizi would have welcomed any investigation and seen it as an opportunity to clear his name.

Strange times we live in.

In any case, I will look at the whole picture. It isn’t just about Anwar alone. It is an entire coalition. Which coalition would be better than the rest?

Which coalition would Rafizi and his group of renegades join? Can they even register a party in time for the next general election? Maybe they will form a third force, which would amount to very little.

LimeHorse5802: I agree that meaningful reform cannot happen overnight. After more than 60 years of entrenched practices, change will inevitably take time.

But the real question is not how long reform takes, but it is the direction of travel.

Are we genuinely moving toward institutional reform, or simply rearranging the optics?

Going after the estate of a deceased individual for alleged non-declaration may create the appearance of enforcement.

But it raises a deeper question: why pursue such cases with urgency while unresolved concerns surrounding alleged institutional misconduct within bodies like the MACC remain hanging?

Reform is not measured by isolated actions, but by whether institutions are willing to confront the most difficult issues within their own ranks. I do not need any answer. I simply urge everyone to reflect on the trajectory.

Dr Suresh Kumar: Bootlickers like this, including PKR veep Chang Lih Kang, are a dime a dozen in PKR, Anwar’s family‑dominated party. Reformasi is already dead or, at best, moribund, a slogan created to make the master political strategist the PM.

Look at the hatred being spewed on social media under Anwar’s governance, especially against the Indian and Hindu community. It is sickening. Despite thousands of police reports against the convert rabble‑rouser Zamri Vinoth, he openly defies Anwar’s government.

And the man who is supposed to be the prime minister for all Malaysians looks the other way. Such blatant mocking and insults never took place under BN against the Indian/Hindu community.

Is this reformasi? He stirs up rabble‑rousers, then talks about unity, peace, and the rule of law. What hypocrisy. His supporters are worse, they shamelessly divert attention and defend him by blaming PAS and others in Malaysiakini’s comment sections under fake names.

BlueShark1548: Time is needed so that Anwar, in his 80s, can serve another five‑year term as prime minister? PKR has not kept its manifesto promises, so why should it be given more time?

Time is not on Anwar’s side, and PKR will learn its lesson as many non‑Malay voters have lost hope in this political chameleon.

Thanks to him, a pan‑Malay party may emerge and take Putrajaya if it can swing the East Malaysian blocs into its coalition.

Anwar has no strong Malay support despite his continuous efforts to woo them, and his actions have cost him non‑Malay support.

Can PKR survive the 16th general election without non‑Malay support? Chang, you are likely to lose your seat anyway.

GP2025: Everything this government has done is tainted. All the bills passed so far have major flaws. This is because the government you represent was not indisputably or constitutionally formed.

If your side does not know how to form a constitutionally correct government, how can it govern correctly? Much less implement reforms. If a government is incorrectly formed, everything that follows will be incorrect or open to challenge.

Get the fundamentals right, and governance will follow more easily.

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