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Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
How political musical chairs empties Malaysian pockets
From Ismat Qayum Depending on who you asked in 2018, Malaysia either enjoyed or endured six prime ministers in six decades. With another four prime ministers in the ensuing four years, some have argued that this is the lagging effect of a maturing democracy. Others, however, bemoan that such musical-chairs politics will damage our country's standing. When Anwar Ibrahim cajoled his motley crew into forming the unity government, there was an implicit promise to all of us. With a supermajority in Parliament, they would have the political stability to enact overdue reforms. Ever since the six state elections in 2023, the overarching view has been that while the government's performance is underwhelming, the stalemate result was expected. Unfortunately, it also meant that any inkling of reformist sails had to be curbed by a don't-rock-the-boat mentality. The government has, all but in name, implemented a Ming vase strategy. Govern in caution, preserve the status quo, and this should result in success for the 16th general election. However, in this balancing act, there is a blind spot brewing within party politics. Recently, we saw two of the biggest sins committed in coalition politics. First, the ruling governing party, PKR, failed to take care of its own house. The party polls led to the unprecedented resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad from their ministerial posts. Rafizi has stepped down as the economy minister, and Nik Nazmi as the natural resources and environmental sustainability minister. Historically, it has never boded well for Malaysia to see an incumbent deputy president ousted in such a manner – the current prime minister could tell you that firsthand. The second sin was arguably the tipping point: enabling ministers to shift houses. The impending entry of the investment, trade and industry minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who quit Umno and wants to join PKR, marks a worrying development in the story of this government. Already, the ever-opportunistic Dr Akmal Saleh, the Umno Youth chief, has challenged Tengku Zafrul to resign as a minister. If this rift between the two houses continues to widen, it will bring the question of stability to the forefront. If there's one thing I have learnt from fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and development banks, it is the art of managing optics and expectations. Government is a test of credible commitments. That credibility boils down to a few key ingredients: sound macroeconomic fundamentals, a healthy business environment, and robust governance. In other words, credible commitments are a test of predictability. You need predictability in your policies. But, more importantly, you need predictability in your politicians. In 2011, an IMF working paper demonstrated that political instability negatively affects economic growth. This is unsurprising: can we name a single high-growth economic policy from the lame-duck period of 2020-2022? What's more shocking is that for every additional Cabinet change, a country's annual growth rate decreases by 2.39 percentage points! If even Malaysians are unsure about the policy priorities (or lack thereof) of incoming ministers, how are foreign investors supposed to feel comfortable about deploying capital? More pressing is the question of the people's pockets. For every ringgit we are being taxed, how much are we getting in the quality of public infrastructure and services? Governments have to increase their revenues to increase the amount being redistributed to public goods. There are fundamentally two ways to do that: either increase taxes or have sustainably high growth rates. As the pie (read: economy) continues to grow, a bigger amount can be given to build better schools and hospitals. And make no mistake, the Madani government has performed well on most economic indicators. Inflation has dropped to 1.4%, 2024's GDP growth was a robust 5.1%, and FDI is at the highest in the nation's history. The trouble is, this performance is confined to a single year. For the wave to cascade equitably across society, one must patiently build it over several years. Yet, we are already seeing the wave slow down: Malaysia's Q1 GDP 2025 performance was below expectation at 4.4% – the third straight quarter of slower growth. Factor in the disruption of US president Donald Trump's tariffs, and political instability becomes something the government cannot afford. It would dry the taps of FDI inflows, reduce high-value job creation, and impede wage growth. Just think about how Malaysia's wages have barely inched since the fallout of the Asian Financial Crisis. Without a predictable environment, the government would fail in its test of credible commitments. History would repeat itself: the pockets of everyday Malaysians will feel the same, or even worse, 25 years from now. There is a caveat to the Ming vase strategy: it rarely works for incumbents. When US vice-president Kamala Harris campaigned on a platform against alienation, her message failed to resonate with everyone. Contrast that to the decisiveness of the Canadian Liberals, who in the final stretch, ousted Justin Trudeau with Mark Carney, resulting in a general election victory. The unity government must heed this lesson. Incumbents only win if they are willing to be bold. If they stand any chance of stopping their sliding popularity, they must restore stability and enact their implicit promise of reforms. The worry is that even then, it might be too late. Ismat Qayum is an FMT reader. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Irish Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the Dutch government's collapse: not unexpected
It took six months of protracted negotiations to form the current Dutch government. Now, just 11 months later, it appears to have collapsed following the abrupt withdrawal of far-right leader Geert Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) from the four-way coalition with the populist Farmer-Citizens Movement (BBB), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) and the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The return of political uncertainty to the Netherlands is not unexpected. It reflects the growing volatility of coalition politics across Europe and the hazards of appeasing populism in the corridors of power. From the outset, the coalition was an uneasy marriage. The inclusion of the PVV, the Netherlands' largest party but long considered politically untouchable due to its anti-immigrant, anti-Islam platform, was a sharp pivot from the Dutch tradition of moderate centrism and careful consensus. It was justified as a necessary compromise to secure stability. Yet bringing the far-right into government did not domesticate its ambitions. It merely moved the arena of disruption from the opposition benches to the cabinet table. The collapse was triggered by the government's failure to accept Wilders's 10-point plan to radically reduce immigration and asylum, which legal experts say would have breached European law. It leaves Dilan Yesilgöz's VVD in an awkward position. The party had gambled on pragmatism over principle, hoping to neutralise extremism through inclusion. Instead, it has found itself destabilised by it, with public trust in government eroded further by scenes of ministerial disarray. The broader lesson is stark. The Netherlands, like much of Europe, faces a fracturing political landscape. Electoral fragmentation and the rise of ideologically extreme parties mean that coalitions are now brittle, stretched thin across deep ideological divides. READ MORE With prime minister Dick Schoof's resignation, voters must now brace themselves for a snap election. The challenge will be forming a government with enough coherence and conviction to hold.
Free Malaysia Today
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Johor Umno Youth slams Amanah's ‘nauseating' habit of pushing for seats
Johor Umno Youth chief Noor Azleen Ambros (left) told Johor Amanah vice-chief Zuhan Zain that seat negotiations will be conducted as a coalition, in this case by BN and PH, and not by the individual components. PETALING JAYA : Johor Umno Youth has described as 'nauseating' Amanah's tendency to stake its claim of seats it wants to contest at the next state election, despite Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan having yet to finalise any negotiations. Johor Umno Youth chief Noor Azleen Ambros said Johor Amanah vice-chief Zuhan Zain had gone overboard by claiming that PH could go solo at the next Johor polls. Zuhan had said he did not discount the possibility of PH clashing with BN – its ally in the unity government – at the 16th general election. Noor Azleen said seat negotiations would be conducted as a coalition, in this case by BN and PH, and not by the individual components. 'So, it is best to refer to your own coalition first before issuing such nauseating statements. 'Also, Amanah should cut its coat according to the cloth. It only has the right to defend one state seat,' he said in a statement, referring to the Simpang Jeram constituency, currently represented by Nazri Abdul Rahman. Last Saturday, Zuhan said Johor PH needed to immediately decide if it wanted to go solo or team up with BN in the next state election. He said it was vital to decide on this as soon as possible to enable the coalition to focus on preparing for the polls, expected to be held early next year. An early decision was also needed to discuss seat allocations if PH intends on continuing to work with BN, he said. In the 2022 state election, Amanah only won one of the 20 seats contested.
