The government has a credibility gap which led to persistent negative public perception, conceded a top party leader from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

koh tsu koon wawasan university 220906 ponder Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon argued that because of this ‘credibility gap’, the government must do more beyond the measures it had announced to cushion the impact of last week’s sharp fuel price hike - an increase of over 40 percent at the pumps.

“From feedback we received, a week after the fuel price hike, despite various government announcements, members of the general public are still feeling unhappy and skeptical towards the government,” said Koh in a statement today.

“To address the issue of credibility gap, the government must hasten the pace of reform in various institutions such as the judiciary, the anti-corruption agency and the police force,” he said, stressing that there is a pressing need to bridge the gap.

While such issues are not directly related to the fuel price hike, Koh believed that “concrete steps to reform these institutions will assure the public that the country’s revenue and their tax money will not go to waste due to corruption and leakages”.

Suggested measures

He suggested other measures which the government must implement. They include:

  • Abolishing road tax for taxis, factory and school buses
  • Put more buses on the road
  • Subsidise public transportation to make it more affordable and accessible

Hastening the pace of institutional reform and improving public transport will restore public confidence and reduce the credibility gap, said the Gerakan leader, who is former Penang chief minister.

“The public will then be more ready to accept and even support this unpopular yet necessary policy to reduce fuel subsidy,” he said.

“The public will also be more willing to share the burden of higher fuel costs, adjust to a more prudent lifestyle, adopt resource-conservation measures and shift to public transportation.”

Koh added that should all these measures are implemented, the fuel price hike might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.