KUALA LUMPUR — Selangor BERSATU Associate Wing Chinese NGO Liaison Committee chairman and BERSATU Puchong Division Associate Wing chief Dato’ Gan Yong Hwa said the fall of the Pakatan Harapan state government in the Negeri Sembilan election proved that the people were tired of politics that was “all talk and no action”.
He said the result also conveyed a strong message of dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his administration.
“The Negeri Sembilan election result represents the people’s direct assessment of the Anwar government’s performance through the ballot box.”
Gan said that since taking office, Anwar had repeatedly announced various economic programmes, assistance packages and reform initiatives. However, what the people were actually experiencing was the rising cost of goods, heavier financial burdens and incomes that could not keep pace with inflation.
“The government presents attractive statistics on stage, but ordinary people at the market are calculating what else they must remove from their shopping baskets.
“While ministers are busy launching new programmes, small business owners are calculating how many more months they can survive. This is the Anwar government’s biggest problem—it excels at publicity but does not know how to translate policies into meaningful benefits for the people.”
Gan said businesses had faced continuous increases in rental, wage, electricity, logistics, raw-material, taxation, e-Invoice and regulatory compliance costs in recent years.
However, the government’s assistance and financing programmes were often burdened by complicated procedures, stringent conditions and slow approval processes. As a result, the micro, small and medium enterprises most urgently in need of assistance were frequently unable to benefit.
Gan also pointed out that before taking office, Pakatan Harapan had consistently stressed the importance of freedom of expression, media freedom, government transparency and public oversight. However, its attitude towards criticism had changed significantly since it came to power.
“In the past, they told the people that criticising the government was a democratic right. Today, those who criticise the government are increasingly concerned about investigations, restrictions or the removal of their content.
“The people can judge for themselves whether the space for journalism and freedom of expression is shrinking. Pakatan Harapan once excelled at challenging the government from the streets, but today it expects the people to accept only the version of reform that it defines. This is completely different from the politics it promised before coming to power.”
Gan also criticised DAP leaders for frequently using issues such as the cost of living, rising prices, civil liberties and government accountability as political weapons when they were in the opposition. After becoming part of the government, however, they had either defended the administration or remained silent when confronted with the same issues.
“They once said that rising prices were evidence of government incompetence. Today, they attribute the same problem to international developments and market forces.
“They once said that the people had the right to criticise the government, but today they turn a blind eye to concerns over the narrowing space for free expression. The people are not unable to understand what is happening—they now see it very clearly. Pakatan Harapan said one thing while in opposition but has done something entirely different in government.”
Gan said the people did not need more slogans, publicity campaigns or launching ceremonies. They needed a government capable of genuinely reducing the cost of living, improving the business environment, creating stable employment, safeguarding freedom of expression and providing timely assistance to small and medium enterprises.
He urged Anwar to immediately conduct a comprehensive review of all policies that had increased the burden on ordinary Malaysians and the business community.
“The Negeri Sembilan election result must not be dismissed as merely a state-level political development. It is a clear warning to the federal government that the people’s patience is running out.
“If the Anwar government continues to ignore the people’s hardship and remains more focused on image-building than solving problems, the same rejection will be repeated in future elections.”