LETTER | It is becoming a joke to associate the Madani government with reforms.

In fact, the government was elected to power on the basis of much-needed reforms, to eradicate corruption, irrelevant laws, outmoded institutions and introduction of checks and balances to the legal and judicial system and in areas to be identified.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been in office for 11 months, there seems to be no serious discussions about the need for reforms.

Reforms are often mentioned in the passing, but there is no political will exhibited by the government.

Meanwhile, there are a plethora of instances that reveal that the government is for anything but reforms.

The granting of discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was an anathema in the war against corruption and financial misdeeds.

If a sitting deputy prime minister could be exonerated from charges of corruption, then it speaks loud and clear of the government’s commitment to eradicating corruption, the main scourge of the nation.

What is worse is not the freeing of Zahid but the blatant and inexcusable reasons given by the “king of reformasi” Anwar to defend and exonerate the former, supposedly a good friend of his.

Anwar, by putting the blame on the retired attorney general (AG) Idrus Harun, sought to extricate himself from the shoddy egregious mess.

It was not the questionable reprieve granted to Zahid, but the heavy political and moral cost to the government in justifying corruption and money laundering.

Zahid’s DNAA has once and for all, nailed the reform package of the pretentious Madani or unity government.

Anwar has shown, without any doubt, that at the end of the day, his stay in power is the most important yardstick of the government and not war against corruption.

Frankly speaking, whatever the justification provided by Anwar or the AGC’s office, reforms have been buried deep in the ground.

If eradication of corruption is treated so lightly, then how on earth the public can trust the government to undertake reforms in many areas of the government?

Despite promises, draconian laws such as the Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) and others continue to exist in the country.

There are no attempts to amend or remove the obnoxious aspects of these anti-democratic laws.

No difference from earlier regime

On the contrary, the ministers are entrusted with the responsibility to justify these undemocratic laws. What a shame!

Reforms are definitely not on the agenda, but there are pretensions about them. A government based on the Madani concept has little or nothing to say on the moral on ethical concerns.

What is the difference between the earlier BN government and the present one?

Except for a change in personalities, the actions are the same or if not worse. At least, the BN government did not deceive the public with the pretentious call for reforms.

At the international level, Anwar has the habit of giving the right messages to show that he is the right person to lead the country.

His speeches are often laced with words, concepts and historical names to give a semblance of his erudite and philosophical nature.

But on the domestic front, Anwar is not too different to earlier Umno right-wing politicians.

Due to the political threat from the opposition, Anwar has embarked on the path of appeasing the Malay-Muslim conservatives, to the extent of condoning the nefarious quota system of entry into matriculation programmes and entry into the country’s civil service.

Apart from repeating his mantra that Malays, Chinese and Indians are his children, he has stopped addressing the problems and anxieties of the non-Malays in the country - particularly the disadvantaged segments.

To the dismay of many, including the ever-critical opposition, his erudite posture was missing when he rudely answered the young Indian girl by justifying the government’s quota system of entry.

Yet, he engages gleefully in presiding over a religious conversion of Hindu youth, angering the Indian community.

It is understandable that the long gestation period that it took Anwar to become the prime minister. There was hope from all sections of the society that he would be the leader that Malaysians had long hoped for.

As leader of the opposition, he had built up a reputation of being a serious-minded reformer that the country needed.

However, once in power, Anwar had shredded his earlier “skin”. Presently, Anwar’s duty seems not to reform but to stay in power for at least the full term.

Malays moving towards PN

Yes, internationally he can impart all the right messages that might endear him. The true nature of Anwar’s leadership must be seen at the domestic level, whether he is honest and true in bringing about the much-needed reforms that were promised to the public.

As far as I am concerned, reforms are basically dead in the country. Anwar’s primary objective is to serve the full-term immaterial of the rot in the political and economic system.

Meanwhile, politically things are not rosy for Anwar or the Madani government. He might desist from reforms, but there is no let up on the part of the opposition.

Starting from the last federal elections to the recent state and the by-elections in Johor, there is an exodus of Malays moving in the direction of the opposition, Perikatan Nasional.

Unless Anwar embarks on something politically drastic or unthinkable at the moment, the drift of the Malays towards the opposition is unstoppable.

Writer is former Penang deputy chief minister II.

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