COMMENT | Why Harapan should promise goodies galore

COMMENT | Forget, for a while, all the election excitement about who is contesting where and who has been dropped. What are the core reforms that Pakatan Harapan should have in its manifesto for GE15? What are the headline items that will grab voters’ attention?

Harapan was supposed to present its manifesto on Oct 20. But obviously, it’s not ready and probably still being actively debated. So, allow me to offer some suggestions.

Many people have told me they never really read Harapan’s manifesto back in 2018. Rather, people voted based on overriding emotions to stop the blatant corruption of 1MDB, to bring down a corrupt former prime minister (and his hated wife) and to abolish GST.

I doubt if many voters remember abstract 2018 manifesto promises on political reforms such as “parliamentary select committees to monitor each ministry” or even “Abolish the Sedition Act”. Rather, most people are concerned mainly with bread-and-butter issues, rather than system reforms (important though they are) that politicians, journalists and lawyers like to talk about.

So I would propose that for Harapan’s 2022 manifesto, the main focus should be on what GOODIES the people stand to gain. I am sorry to be so blunt, but let’s admit that Malaysia has ‘pasar malam’ politics and this is what moves the crucial rural voters.

After that, we can discuss other important system overhauls that cater more to urban voters such as: 1) local council elections, 2) police reform – IPCMC, and 3) political funding.

Corruption doesn’t matter?

It pains me to hear how Harapan politicians still have to explain in their ceramahs how corruption affects everyone’s well-being. Some have to spell out that stolen national funds mean less money to build schools and hospitals or to give out “bantuan” (financial aid).

Obviously, there are still many voters who think, “Well, yeah the leaders (up there) steal, but they didn’t steal anything from me (down here), so what do I care?”

Even worse, leaders like Mat Sabu still have to rebut “teachings” that voters should choose even those who are corrupt “asalkan Melayu Islam (as long as they are Malay Muslim).” Again, the sentiment is that “corruption doesn’t really matter”.

Urban middle-class voters may think, how can some people be so “stupid” not to understand that corruption affects all our lives and pockets eventually? Maybe they have been brainwashed with feudal thinking that ‘bangsawan’ (elites) deserve “more”? You know, like “Malu Apa Bossku?” Whatever it is, some of these voters need to be won over if Harapan wants to enter Putrajaya.

Let’s remember that half of Malaysians earn less than the median salaries RM2,315 (males) and RM2,145 (females). This means that many are struggling with day-to-day survival and have little time for national corruption scandals “up there” in the lofty halls of power or “grand” political reform ideas.

So politics seems irrelevant to them unless it can promise to directly improve their lives very soon. Umno knows this, which is why it peppered the fake “teaser” national 2023 budget with all kinds of goodies.

How about Harapan? After the miraculous victory of 2018, it seems they were too concerned with big macro ideals like national debt levels and credit ratings. So much so that they “could not afford” to fulfil key manifesto promises such as deferring PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund) loan repayments by those earning salaries under RM4,000 monthly.

That was such a dumb move with huge, huge political costs. Do most voters even care if our national debt has been reduced by this or that percentage point? But they get furious when simple promises to real people are not kept.

Or take the measly and forgettable 18 percent reduction of North-South Highway tolls. Can you imagine if Harapan had done a 40 percent cut instead? Who cares if they needed to borrow some money to do it. That would be talked about by voters until now as an example of how Harapan can “really” improve our lives!

And the largest party would not be PAMU or Parti Aku Malas Undi (uninterested voters), which analyst Wong Chin-Huat notes can be as high as 45 percent of voters.

Crucial rural voters

Instead, the Umno narrative is that Harapan “failed to fulfill its promises”. This is a half-lie but it rings true for rural voters. Why? One reason is that in mid-2018, then finance minister Lim Guan Eng stopped subsidy payments of RM300 per month to more than 70,000 traditional fishermen, and the rubber price support system that helped 200,000 rubber smallholders.

As Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj of PSM pointed out, this was pure folly considering that Harapan had only won less than 20 percent of the rural Malay vote. As Harapan parties lacked grassroots networks that could rival PAS and Umno, they were unable to rebut Umno propaganda that Harapan was “anti-Malay”.

But you may say, hey didn’t Lim and his team succeed in big, important stuff like slashing the costs of megaprojects such as LRT3, MRT2 and ECRL? Yes, indeed they did. But did rural Malay voters directly FEEL the results of those cost savings?

Financial responsibility

Harapan announced in late 2019 (just before the Sheraton Move) that RM810 million had been allocated for the welfare of Felda settlers. But this was too late for the crucial Felda voters (that dominate 90 Parliament seats) to “feel the love”.

Sadly, support for Harapan in Felda areas has dropped from 21 to 6 percent while Ismail Sabri has stolen the thunder by promising almost RM300 million (including debt write-offs). As Bridget Welsh commented wryly, “#UndiBanjir is taking on a different meaning as Felda areas are being flooded with promises of cash and benefits.”

So enough of the Penang “kiamsiap” (stingy) accountant mindset la… Malaysia is not a company that needs to be run “tightly” and “efficiently”. We are a country filled with all kinds of warped thinking and emotional baggage from 65 years of racial propaganda. Washing that away will need real money from real goodies.

Some argue that giveaways are not “fiscally responsible”. It also runs against the “Chinese mindset” (perhaps of some DAP leaders) against the “subsidy mentality”, with its racial overtones.

This is the meritocratic mindset of us Chinese people who believe that people should always be “jor gangg” or slaving away to the bone. And when we meet someone relaxing on a weekday, our half-mocking greeting is, “Waaah, so free ah?”

But giving money to poorer people (even for doing little or nothing) does benefit the economy in the longer term via greater consumption. Think of it as a ground-up economic stimulus programme. It’s much better than giving billions to fat cat bankers (as done in America)!

I believe that Harapan needs to convince voters that cutting corruption means more than abstract improvements in GDP numbers. Instead, it should mean that the government is able to give more handouts. Yes, for people to have more money in their pockets SOON. Then perhaps they will stop thinking that “corruption doesn’t matter to me”.

View it as a costly “hearts and minds” campaign to clean the nation of backward thinking. Thinking that will lead back to people voting in the same crooks pillaging even more billions for "invisible" warships or helicopters from our national coffers. Surely, that is even worse for national finances.

Paradise on earth

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has warned voters against Harapan’s manifesto promising “paradise on earth”. Sure, Umno and gang will use this attack line against a generous Harapan manifesto – precisely because they know that voters want this sort of thing.

So Harapan should ignore such noises and go ahead to offer some key policies that will help people. Umno will scream “unrealistic” and “impossible”! But one merely needs to point the finger back at Ismail Sabri’s huge Felda giveaways and the ‘fake’ budget filled with sweeteners like the RM200 credit to youths’ e-wallets and RM2,500 (highest ever) for Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia.

So what kind of goodies can be given? Anything that improves the lives of poorer B40 Malay (and non-Malay) voters will be good. And it should be packaged in an easy-to-understand form like Harapan’s “10 promises in 100 days” back in 2018.

It should also be something that people can measure and remember in a short-time frame. Harapan promised “one million affordable homes in two terms (10 years)” back in 2018. But perhaps that’s too big and over too many years.

Why not promise something more focused like 100,000 affordable homes within two years in states ruled by Harapan (since land is a matter that needs state approval)? Surely this can be achieved? Unless the interests of property developers intervene?

Let me revisit some of Dr Jeyakumar’s ideas. Our elderly are struggling with depleted savings, so how about a Universal Pension Scheme of RM300 per month?

How about doing up low-cost flats that many urban poor live in? Indeed, take over their management (as promised in 2018) and empower communities to monitor and participate in how funds are spent.

If much more can be accomplished with the same amount of money, this will be another lesson in how leakages rob people of concrete benefits. Finally, politics will become meaningful and purposeful, rather than listening to politicians jabbering about this or that scandal that seems irrelevant in their lives.

There are endless ways to help poorer Malaysians and I wish that Harapan’s manifesto explores them. Once promises are fulfilled and people see for themselves how their lives improve, voters’ eyes will be opened. And hopefully, the stranglehold of racial politics peddled by corrupt leaders will be broken.

ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

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

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