LETTER | Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has resorted to hijacking and looting public sentiment, after being lambasted for flip-flopping on the foreign worker levy issue. 

To make an escape, he makes use of the excuse of ‘‘listening to public sentiment’’ as a shield, making him the most unaccountable minister in the history.

Before implementing any policies, a government is expected to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth study, so as to understand the potential impacts on the country and people.

Public engagement is an essential process. It should be emphasised that listening to public sentiments should be done before implementing any policy, tather than making harsh changes after the announcement is criticised and questioned by members of public.

On this matter, the Harapan government did not take into consideration public views involving raising the foreign worker levy.

It was announced abruptly and now Lim is defending his move based on the excuse of "listening to public sentiment". He truly lacks the sense of responsibility expected of a cabinet minister, and does not show any remorse at all.

I suspect the policy concerning foreign workers does not come under the jurisdiction of Finance Ministry. It is irresponsible for Lim to make any announcement on behalf of the relevant Ministry.

In the end, he dodges accountability by saying ‘‘it is wrong to do or not to do’’.

If the Finance Minister is willing to get down on the ground and duly perform his duty, he should find ways to fix and strengthen the economy, instead of letting it goes down the drain.

This is not the first time the Finance Minister’s remark has landed him in trouble, nor will it be the last time. The rakyat can only pray that our Finance Minister can at least gets a “pass” in his performance.

The writer is MCA Youth chairperson and the party's Education Consultative Committee deputy chairperson.

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