LETTER | The Kemaman by-election result was not a wake-up call. The trend has been simmering with increased intensity for a long time already.

I think a large section of the population has made up their mind. They wanted change, just like Pakatan Harapan wanted change in 2013, 2018 and 2022.

Although Harapan finally managed to form the federal government after 2018 and 2022, both governments were handicapped by shortcomings.

The 2018 government was torpedoed by the Sheraton Move while the present government is saddled with heavy baggage which makes reforms and execution of sound policies difficult and treacherous.

Many are sceptical that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration will make a significant difference since the government must accommodate people with chequered past and diverse interests in his government.

Be that as it may, I still feel the government is still the best we can get given the circumstances. I have since realised that criticising the government of the day is much easier than running a government saddled with a multitude of problems and challenges.

Criticising the Anwar-led government is now a fad. But we must realise that even economies fundamentally stronger than Malaysia are also faced with high inflation, food shortages, wide income disparity, high cost of living and high interest rates.

So far, what we hear from the opposition are problems and complaints without an iota of solution being proposed. All they talked about was the future of the Malays and Islam which according to them will be in jeopardy.

Nothing was said about how and why the Malays and Islam will be in danger unless the present government is deposed.

Nothing was proposed on what they could do differently to fix the economy and to redeem the pride of Malays and Islam.

What’s the actual focus?

When the Perikatan Nasional-dominated government was in power, nothing significant was done other than endless appointments of politicians to positions in government and government-linked companies (GLCs).

Similarly, debates by the opposition in Parliament now have nothing to do with policies, strategies, or programmes to help alleviate the burdens of the people.

Instead, it was just citing one “standing order” after another to disrupt the business of the house by insulting and engaging in childish polemics.

Capitalising on the perceived insecurity of the Malays and Islam, the present voting trend favouring PN is likely to continue.

The fundamental question we ought to ask is would the change in the federal government make a difference? What new and profound impetus can they bring to the table?

I agree that it is a daunting task for Harapan to carry out the promised reform and restructuring. So far not many are satisfied with its performance.

Right now, many are blaming the government for not being able to lower the cost of living, reduce inflation, increase wages, provide more subsidies, lower interest rates, and provide more welfare and give more loans.

But for any of these proposals, we must realise that there are downside risks and sustainability issues that the government must contend with.

It does not matter whether we are pro-Harapan or pro-PN. When assessing the performance of the government, we just need to be as objective as possible.

This country will be heading nowhere if we keep changing the federal government but with the same actors coming to the scene.

It is most likely the new government will also be saddled with sectarian demands, diverse interests, incompetence, corruption, and infighting. It is Hobson's choice, we just need to accept the lesser evil.

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