LETTER | There was a clear problem with the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

Instead of a people-centric government, Malaysians have been treated to a return to Mahathir economics, a system characterised by broken, trickle-down economics and a zealous commitment to dismantling social security structures – while maximising “reward” for those at the top.

In the name of financial prudence, the previous government would rather cut BR1M/BSH entirely, give tax breaks to the rich and cut critical allowance for public servants who serve in key public services.

This was the government that then youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman wanted to defend to the very end – one that arguably risked its own stability by the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s insistence on avoiding setting a clear timeline for his transition.

At this government’s height, Syed Saddiq spent every second defending the man that he once called ‘Cikgu’.

Take for example his “call to arms” against his political allies in DAP.

Syed Saddiq openly threatened DAP, saying that his Bersatu Youth wing will go after the Pakatan Harapan partner unless it disciplined Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Ronnie Liu’s opinion piece titled “Mahathir: The paper tiger”.

However, when DAP called Syed Saddiq’s bluff – he sidestepped the issue saying that the then on-going campaign for the Tanjung Piai election was of greater importance.

We also saw Syed Saddiq’s keen interest emulating his erstwhile mentor’s comfort of mixing policymaking with key corporate interests.

This was not just limited to Mahathir old-guards such as Vincent Tan, as seen at an infamous Armada fundraising dinner, but the former minister has also openly brought his own corporate pals into the highest echelons of power if this government’s sudden U-turn of Gojek is anything to go by.

He is also not shy in making his views on race relations public. At a conference at the University of Oxford, he lamented the “subconscious” discrimination against the Malays.

Who could not forget Syed Saddiq’s selfie video addressing the JPA cuts to critical allowances, and he vigorously defended the role of young doctors in our public healthcare.

His response? That he would cut his holiday time, return his holiday allowance and cut his salary by 10 percent.

Oddly enough, he did not extend this same gesture when he began his tenure as youth and sports minister by severely cutting down on funding for our national sports programmes.

When confronted by users on social media about this publicity stunt and over the fact that this should have been discussed in cabinet meetings instead, Syed Saddiq’s officers attempted to deflect accusations of incompetence by stating that the cabinet was simply blindsided by this decision.

Ironically, blindsided is the same primary defence that former PM Najib Razak is using for the 1MDB & SRC trials.

We could have hardly afforded another year of business as usual in Putrajaya. The Covid-19 virus simply widens the gap that we face compared to our global trade partners – and certainly could have not afforded old-school Mahathir policies from the previous century.

For the sake of all Malaysians, Syed Saddiq needs to go back to the drawing board and remember what he used to stand for in the eyes of everyday Malaysians. The instability of Mahathir’s last years in office should finally be set in the history books, allowing us to finally move into a new Malaysia.

Remember that this is the promise that you made to us, the people, Syed Saddiq - it’s time for you to finally fulfil it.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.