Cabinet must ensure it delivers

Publication: NSUNT

Date of publication: May 19, 2013

Section heading: Main Section

Page number: 020

Byline / Author: By A Jalil Hamid

SOON after they took their oath of office, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak gave his ministers a two-hour pep talk where he outlined his and the people's expectations of how the country should be governed.

Faced with a divided electorate and a raucous opposition that refuses to concede defeat, Najib will have his hands full as he sets the unity and transformation agenda for his cabinet team.

Following the prolonged politicking and unofficial campaign period that lasted for months before the May 5 general election, ordinary Malaysians are more than eager to see the government get down to business soon.

For one, Najib should leverage on his new team to forge ahead with the national transformation plans and ensure that they do not lose the momentum built over the last four years.

The government should ensure that economic growth remains strong and sustainable, driven by the Economic Transformation Programme as it takes the nation to high income, developed economy status by 2020.

That means economic planners, led by Maybank chief-turned-minister Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, and Pemandu chief Datuk Seri Idris Jala, cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal, or roll back on some of the economic reforms, such as cutting burdensome subsidies.

There are many things that have been on the drawing board for some time that should be given due attention now. These include the long-delayed goods and services tax (GST) and the much-awaited national automotive policy.

Najib, who retained the Finance Ministry portfolio, will also need to rein in the fiscal deficit by raising tax and non-tax revenues and put in place prudent financial management.

Bread-and-butter issues, such as affordable housing, public transport, rural infrastructure, street crime, Selangor water supply and other pressing urban issues also deserve some attention. In short, the BN government must work harder in dealing with issues facing urban voters, who by and large, deserted the coalition.

One issue that has plagued previous BN administrations is corruption and public integrity.

The inclusion of Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, president of Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M), as minister in the Prime Minister's Department tasked with fighting corruption, is the clearest signal yet that Najib is committed to tackling corruption at its roots.

Idris, who heads Pemandu, has done some commendable work in fighting corruption as part of the Government Transformation Programme. Low will ensure that this anti-corruption battle is given an added impetus.

Low and his team should come up with a clear plan of action within the next few months on how he proposes to reduce or deter incidences of corruption within the public and private sectors.

As TI-M president, he has made fighting corruption a bigger agenda for the nation. It was through his efforts that TI-M's Integrity Pledge was pushed in the run-up to GE13 -- a pledge which Najib committed his government and party.

My main role will be to help continue the transformation towards a clean government, Low said of his new job.

Corruption, if it gets out of hand, will destroy public faith and trust in the government and private sectors and add to the cost of doing business.

Since assuming office in 2009, Najib has strengthened the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), focused on government transparency and accountability and hauled up a number of powerful people to court.

With the recent general election serving as a wake-up call for BN, the stakes are high if the coalition does not deliver on the people's mandate before the next election.

The new cabinet will have to prove that it has the ability to deliver and address the trust deficit with the people by restoring voter confidence in the government.

They should be result-oriented, cut down on pomp and ceremony and unnecessary publicity as the people want to see BN deliver on its election pledges.

With voters becoming more demanding, ministers must continue to show political courage to do the right thing.

There is no magic pill to redeem our credibility in just one day. But if we are sincere in the transformation and keep our promises, I believe the voters will eventually come to our side, the newly minted Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

jalil@mediaprima.com.my