Revolt is not reform, and one revolutionary administration is not good government.
– Lincoln Steffens, American investigative journalist
The curtain has come down on the PH government.
After just 655 days in power, on Sunday Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sent his letter of resignation as prime minister to the Agong and took his Bersatu out of PH, effectively pulling the plug on the PH government.
Many in the government did not quite understand the dire situation they were in, thinking all it meant was to pick a successor and move on from there.
But when they did realise it wasn’t as easy as that – it probably dawned on them that without Tun and Bersatu the PH had lost in the game of numbers – morning of Monday they went in search of the 94-year-old doctor and begged him to return to Putrajaya.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was “satisfied” with their last meeting with Tun; Lim Guan Eng said he was “emotional”.
Perhaps one day we will know why Anwar was “satisfied” and Guan Eng was “emotional” but by late Monday afternoon Tun had returned to Putrajaya, this time as the interim prime minister.
Yes, now Tun is back in Putrajaya – but without Guan Eng, without his Cabinet members and without Anwar, who was never in Putrajaya all the 655 days of PH government. He was just the prime minister-in-waiting.
As I write this, Tun is in Putrajaya alone. Apparently his precondition to return was the Cabinet must be dissolved.
Late Monday the Agong consented; the final nail was driven on the coffin of the PH government.
Two years short of its full term, the PH government has died a premature death, no thanks to the infighting that had not given the coalition the time and space to fulfill its GE14 promises.
The PH government had won power on the strength of its long list of promises – toll-free roads, more jobs opportunities, PTPTN loans abolished, cheaper fuel, higher royalty to oil and gas producing states, etc. – but even before Tun could sufficiently warm his seat, the PH people were already telling him he had only two years.
And they had been hounding him about the two years all the 655 days of PH government’s life. Therein lies the PH problem. The politicking and back-stabbing were relentless.
He kept telling them to serve the rakyat, but people like Guan Eng were serving DAP.
He gave them chance to prove that they were better than the kleptocrats of the previous government but it soon turned out that many members of his government were incapable of performing.
They may not be just another group of kleptocrats but they surely had nothing to offer as administrators and policy makers, thus they made life harder for Malaysians.
They excelled when it came to politicking, therefore they were not great listeners. They did not listen to Tun. On the contrary, not a few came out to openly criticise his decisions and question his leadership. Some even threatened to go to the street.
All this pointed to an implosion – a premature death. On Monday they all ‘died’. Except Tun, of course!
It’s Tuesday, and for the first time in history Malaysia is ruled by one man – the interim prime minister. That’s really a record of sort – 30 million people and the government is a 94-year-old who has returned for the third time, but this time to rule alone!
Perhaps by the time this article goes to the print a new Cabinet is in place, but before that happens, you may need to stock up on your popcorn to stay tuned to the latest development in Putrajaya.
