Anwar Ibrahim’s welfarist manifesto makes decision difficult
Wan Saiful Wan Jan, TMI
I congratulate Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for launching its manifesto recently. PR has always wanted to shift Malaysia’s political debate from one that is obsessed with race and religion towards policy. By launching their manifesto early, PR under Anwar Ibrahim shows continuous commitment to making our country a more mature democracy.
I am very impressed with what PR has achieved over the years. Unlike Barisan Nasional (BN) which has access to the vast federal government machinery, PR has very limited resources. Yes, PR may be able to tap into the resources of a few states — and they do — but that is miniscule compared to what BN can access at the federal level.
Therefore it is no mean feat for PR to come out with something as major as this manifesto. Clearly they are preparing for government, and they are very serious in wanting to transform Malaysia. If all our politicians are as committed to mature policy debates as the PR leaders, Malaysia would be a much better country.
Dubbed as “The People’s Manifesto”, the document contains some wonderful proposals to enhance our political freedom. My favourite one is actually the very first thing listed in the manifesto — “eliminating racial discrimination and the incitement of antagonism between community groups to ensure the people’s unity and harmony”.
This is a promise that all parties will make, but, I think BN has failed miserably to show commitment to this important agenda. I have not seen strong enough attempts by BN’s top leadership to even dissociate themselves from the many inflammatory statements and incidences that have taken place over the last few months. Thus my hope on this aspect is with PR.
PR dedicated a whole section to describe how they would improve the way government is run and improve our political freedom. There are clear promises to remove political interference from the civil service, make elections more clean and transparent, reform the judiciary as well as the MACC and the police force, strengthen Parliament, restore media freedom, and enhance academic freedom. These are reforms that our country very much need.
Unfortunately that is where the good news ends. If one were to analyse the document from a liberal perspective, one would quickly find that the overall spirit of the manifesto is quite scary. Frankly, with this manifesto, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition looks set to make Malaysia a welfare state, and catapult us firmly to the left.
The vision underpinning this manifesto is actually very well summarised in a line on the very last page of the document, in an imaginary letter written by a common Malaysian after 10 years of PR government. The sentence reads “Most importantly, I am proud that the Malaysian administration has proven its ability to distribute and create prosperity for everyone.”
Perhaps it is just a Freudian slip, but the positioning of “distribute” before “create” explains exactly what this manifesto is about — i.e. a welfare state redistributionist agenda that puts more emphasis on how to spend rather than how to create wealth.
The list of handouts, subsidies and costly initiatives is a long one. And it looks like under PR the tentacles government will be everywhere in our lives. Let’s have a look at just some of them.
In the workplace, PR will increase minimum wage to RM1,100 per month. If that’s not enough to increase unemployment, PR will encourage employers to remove low-skilled workers by creating a RM2 billion fund “to provide automation incentives.” I hasten to add that BN is the biggest culprit in this issue because it was the BN who introduced minimum wage in the first place.
In dealing with an ageing society, even if you are a millionaire, PR will give you RM1,000 every year once you reach the age of 60. They call this a “Senior Citizens’ Bonus Scheme.” This is the first time I heard about people getting a bonus simply for ageing.
To attract votes from the armed forces, PR promises to provide several types of handouts. They will create a RM500 million fund to assist the participation of ex-soldiers in economic activities. They will increase the government’s contribution to Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) from 15 per cent to 20 per cent so that ex-soldiers have higher pension fund. And non-pensionable veterans will be given RM2,000 per year.
