Hwok-Aun Lee

On Reflection | Pakatan Harapan’s election win was one for the ages. The next four years will determine not just its future, but Malaysia’s too

A year into government, the administration of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has had some successes while also struggling to meet some of its pre-election promises.

This is the seventh of a series of essays by well-known Malaysians to be published in the run-up to May 9, the anniversary of the country’s first change of government.

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad displaying Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto in 2018. Photo: AP

Hwok-Aun Lee

Published: 12:00pm, 9 May 2019Updated: 5:04pm, 10 May 2019

Pakatan Harapan took power in Malaysia on promises of economic relief and stewardship. The people fervently asked for it. The coalition and its predecessor, Barisan Nasional, both pledged to help Malaysians cope with rising costs, provide social assistance, sustain economic growth and manage public spending.

Barisan Nasional sought a mandate to do more of the same, and on some of those elements Pakatan Harapan converged, notably cash transfers, job growth, and the minimum wage. In sharp divergence, Pakatan Harapan boldly promised to abolish the goods and services tax (GST) implemented by the previous administration, prosecute financial scandals, arrest corruption and purge political patronage.

The new government’s projection of a people’s economy prevailed, but how has it performed in the first year?

Pakatan Harapan swiftly delivered on the key promise of abolishing the 6 per cent GST, and reinstated the narrower-based sales and services tax. Unsurprisingly, prices have not dropped commensurately, and people remain economically anxious, although perhaps mindful that the financial burdens they bear stem from complex causes, some beyond the government’s direct control. The cost of living continually occupies, and flummoxes, the government – but it is strenuously deliberated and studied, and assuredly a top priority.

Policies to ameliorate living standards, especially of low-income households, seek to boost earnings and channel social assistance. In principle, Pakatan Harapan has committed to both, with a priority on raising wages, but the timing and balance of policy shifts remain unclear.

For instance, proposals to reduce and eventually abolish cash transfers have stigmatised such assistance, and overlooked possible refinements to make them more effective. This may also further strain household budgets if earnings-boosting measures – which grapple with deep-seated structural problems – progress slowly.