Take a leaf from S’pore’s PAP on people issues for comeback, M’sian academic urges BN

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s ruling coalition can repair its dented public perception by adopting the proactive people-oriented policies taken by Singapore’s People’s Action Party’s (PAP), a Malaysian academic has suggested.

Mr Arnold Puyok, senior lecturer at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, said there was a valuable lesson to be gleaned from the Singaporean ruling party’s landslide victory in the republic’s national election this year for governments around the world dealing with growing public disenchantment, including Malaysia’s adminstration under Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“Najib should push for good governance and take matters of public interest to heart. The goods and services tax has forced more people to dig deeper into their pockets despite rising prices of essential goods and housing.

“The most hit economically are young middle-income professionals and graduates,” he wrote in an article published on the East Asia Forum website today (Nov 26).

He added that while Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s challenge and the questions surrounding 1 Malaysia Development Berhad and the RM2.6 billion (S$870 million) donation are “major headaches” for Mr Najib, they will not matter much in determining his and the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s future in Malaysian politics.

The political analyst said the key to winning is to boldly address public concerns by making tough policy decisions.

Making reference to PAP’s performance in the previous election back in 2011, which won a popular vote of only 60 per cent, its lowest ever recorded in 60 years, it reacted proactively to public criticism, and changed many of its policy positions on issues such as affordable housing, immigration and economic stagnation.

This September, the PAP won the election with 69.9 per cent of the popular vote.

“The PAP’s major electoral victory in Singapore shows that a dominant party system is still alive in Southeast Asia.

“In Malaysia, the BN lost its two-thirds majority in 2008 and 2013. There is a real possibility that its popular support will dip further in the coming election.

“It is important for Najib and the BN to display some real leadership in addressing people-oriented issues,” Mr Puyok wrote. MALAY MAIL ONLINE