What are the positives and negatives as Malaysian PM Anwar’s government marks two years in power?

Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib Razak were ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the report. 

“Leaders such as Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Mahathir Mohamad made more substantial progress within similar time frames,” said the report, adding that Mr Anwar even underperformed compared to Najib in his first term, although Najib’s subsequent actions in undermining key institutions for his political benefit during his second term meant his administration ranked bottom. 

“The Unity Government’s cautious and incremental approach has slowed reform momentum and diminished public confidence,” added the report.

Mr Ooi said that a post-election coalition government should not be an excuse to abandon all reform promises, pointing out that Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) shared four major promises that have not been fully implemented.  

He said that one of the common promises made by both coalitions in their manifestos was that major appointments at public institutions such as the MACC and EC would go through parliamentary scrutiny, but this has not happened so far.

Mr Azam Baki was reappointed as the chief commissioner of MACC in May this year without undergoing parliamentary scrutiny.  

Economy minister Rafizi Ramli in Jan 2022 said that some of MACC actions against PH were political persecution and that he would be called up for questioning if they formed the government.  

“Election manifestos remain binding even when parties enter coalitions. Coalitions should be formed to advance and fulfil these agendas, not to set them aside,” said Mr Ooi. 

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24, 2022, after the 15th General Election failed to produce a clear winner and resulted in a hung parliament.   

He leads a unity government comprising PH, previous ruling coalition BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan) among others. 

The government has also faced criticism over some of its plans and proposals. 

Ms Sophie Lemière, an adjunct fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that several planned reforms, such as the Malaysian social media licensing plans, amendments to its citizenship bills and the “Mufti bill”, are stirring Malaysia “backward”.

“The stability of the government and the current desperate need for economic recovery are the recurrent political arguments used to justify the necessity to cooperate with existing power structures while satisfying the most conservative sections of society even if that means compromising civil liberties,” she said in an article on Nov 1. 

The “Mufti Bill” aims to define the role and responsibilities of the Islamic jurors in the Federal Territories, which include Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya. 

In a response to BERSIH’s grading, Mr Anwar told the parliament on Thursday that the government was still new and could perform better over time.  

“About BERSIH’s (rating), it’s okay if they want to give us a ‘D’. At least it’s not an ‘F’. (If in UPSR) we get a ‘D’, later during SPM we should get an ‘A’. (Because) we are still very new,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini. 

The UPSR refers to the now discontinued public exam for primary students while the SPM is the equivalent of the O-levels examination taken by fifth year secondary school students.