COMMENT | Anything the Pakatan Harapan government does is heaps better then what former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak did. In fact, defeating the BN government more than makes up for any unfulfilled promises made by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad thus far. Time will tell.

PAS advisory board chairperson Mustafa Ali is right in defending the new government’s efforts. Describing the change of government and smooth transition as “positive developments” is itself a positive statement and a hallmark of the once missing “positive politics” desperately needed to rebuild the nation.

Mahathir is not perfect and will need time to perfect his administration, if ever. Some of his decisions since becoming country leader have been controversial.

His recent choice of former Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman to head the Electoral Reforms Committee is questionable. Surely someone like former Bersih chairpersons Maria Chin or Ambiga Sreenevasan would have been a better choice. They do not carry any political baggage.

Rahman served his former political masters instead of the public interest, and was determined to keep Umno in power from a racist purview, according to political commentator Kim Quek.

Kim said in a Facebook post yesterday: “So, it was he who had so skilfully mangled our electoral roll to favour Umno that the integrity of the Malaysian electoral boundary is now ranked at the very bottom of the 127 nations surveyed by the Electoral Integrity Project.” This blatant conflict of interest disqualifies him for the role. Will he expose his past sins?

Public servants who succumb to notions of self-perpetuation in their roles instead of defending the truth and high ethical standards disqualify themselves for high office...