Anwar has done much more than we assume

Rather than invest his time, energy and effort to satisfy the expectations of the likes of Mahathir or Ku Li might, the most important thing for Anwar to do is succeed in liberating the country from its legacy of mistakes and enable it to find a meaningful future.

Nehru Sathiamoorthy

Umno veteran Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is of the opinion that Anwar has done nothing since taking office two years ago. In his view, everything that Anwar has done, he has only done out of anger against predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Is there reform? It’s just all talk. What he used to shout about was only because he was angry with the former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for ‘attacking’ and arresting him.

“Thus, the ‘Reformasi’ movement was born, and people agreed with this call. Just so justice would be given to him.

“He says it takes time, but it’s been over two years since he became prime minister. From the time when Mahathir was prime minister twice and Barisan Nasional fell, there has been no record of how to bring about reform,” Tengku Razaleigh, who is also fondly known as Ku Li, reportedly said.

Ku Li’s observation mirrors a similar observation that Mahathir made in August. According to Mahathir, it is “difficult” to think of anything positive that Anwar Ibrahim’s government has done since he took office two years ago.

I am certainly not a fan of Anwar, but I do believe that both Ku Li’s and Mahathir’s rating of Anwar is too jaundiced. Anwar might have not done everything that he says that he would have done and he might have turned his back on many of the things that he said he would do, but there are also things that he has in fact done, and the things that he has done are not insubstantial and they are reform oriented.

Anwar has not articulated what exactly does he mean by reform, and this has led many people, including Ku Li,  to believe that all of Anwar’s talk about reforms is nothing more than hot air, that Anwar “shouts about only because he was angry with the former prime minister Mahathir Muhammad,” but if we look at the significant actions that he has undertaken since becoming the PM two years ago, we can see that actually, Anwar might have a vision of “reforms” , and the reforms that he has in mind might actually be necessary to release the country from the clutches of our past excesses and mistakes, so that  instead of drowning under the weight of the past, we will be able to soar into the future.

If I were to call it, I would say that Anwar’s subsidy rationalisation and brave moves to raise the wages of workers are two immensely significant items of reform that he has instituted since taking office.

Mahathir’s idea of developing the country was based on the view that the best way to develop the country is by giving him and the people that he deems to be the cream of the crop in the country the full authority to control the power and resources of the country. With full power and control of the resources of the country, he and the people of his choosing will then be supposedly able to  rapidly develop the country for the benefit of all Malaysians.

Mahathir’s idea worked for a while and gave amazing results around the late 80s and 90s, but ultimately, his idea was proven to be unworkable when it caused our economy to crash during  the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and crippled it to such an extent that it has never been able to fully recover since that time.

Despite the unworkability of Mahathir’s vision, much of the theories, structures and mechanism that Mahathir implemented to execute his vision still remain until this day, and their continuous existence is what is causing our economy to not only be unable to meet the demands of the future, it is also regularly being threatened by the prospect of returning to a third world existence which our forefathers have laboured for generations to rise out from.

Anwar’s move to implement such actions as the subsidy rationalisation and wage increment are definitely moves to dismantle the economic legacy of Mahathir, and these are significant moves to release Malaysia from the mistakes of our past.

From stagnant wages, an uncompetitive mindset that believes that the way to rise in the world is by gaining the favour of your superior instead of competing with your peers in reality and winning, corruption, an alarmingly high number of low skilled foreign workers, an economy that relies on growth by exploiting the workforce to provide cheap and low value services and goods rather than an economy that grows by creating high value service and goods through the cultivation of the talent and skill people, the excesses and errors of Mahathir’s policies have for too long encumbered and frustrated the desires of the country to develop our full potentials.

Without being able to develop their full potential, Malaysians have also grown so bitter and dejected, that their frustration and disappointment is creating a toxic landscape in the country, filled with endless power struggles, race and religious tension as well as ill will and bewilderment.

Anwar’s subsidy rationalisation, wage increment and perhaps even inheritance tax, are all moves that are engineered to unburden Malaysians from the weight of our past mistakes, wash away the toxicity from the Malaysians Experience and chart a path of growth and possibility for our future.

The problem with Anwar is that he is playing his cards close to his chest, and revealing too little of what he has in his heart and mind.

The fact that he is also likely engaged in a cat and mouse game with the remnants of Mahathir’s ancien regime that are bitterly opposed to his reforms, and the fact toxicity in the Malaysian Experience is regularly in danger of getting out of hand, might also be murkying the waters to such an extent that it is hard to see what it is that Anwar has planned.

The fact that many Malaysians, especially old timers like Ku Li and Mahathir, still tie the concept of “doing something” with the construction of highways, skyscrapers or new cities might also be a part of why many people might see Anwar’s administration as a “do nothing” administration.

But at the end of the day, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Rather than invest his time, energy and effort to satisfy the expectations of the likes of Mahathir or Ku Li might, the most important thing for Anwar to do is succeed in liberating the country from its legacy of mistakes and enable it to find a meaningful future.

If he does that, I am confident that despite his shortcomings, he will be able to contribute to his country, win the favour of the next generation and be remembered as the “Father of Reformation” who saved the country at a time when it needed saving.