KUALA LUMPUR — Electoral watchdog Bersih ranked former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Malaysia’s best leader since 2009, attributing his success to implementing institutional reforms during his tenure.
Faisal Abdul Aziz, Bersih’s chairman, noted that Ismail Sabri’s administration pushed through anti-hopping legislation, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, and allocated funds to all parliamentarians, including those from the opposition, via a memorandum of understanding.
Ismail Sabri was prime minister from August 2021 to November 2022, before Anwar’s administration took after winning the general election.
Meanwhile, ranking other prime ministers, Bersih placed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in second place, followed by current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
However, Anwar’s current Madani administration was also given a “D” grade for its performance over the past two years, with Bersih pointing to the government’s limited progress in carrying out reforms.
Faisal acknowledged the Madani administration is a government comprising different coalitions, but said it should not be an excuse to abandon manifesto promises.
“The absence of meaningful reforms under Anwar is puzzling, especially considering that the unity government holds a solid parliamentary majority.
“With such firm control and no imminent threats to his premiership, there’s little justification for neglecting low-hanging fruits or failing to take initial steps toward significant reforms,” Faisal said when presenting the watchdog group’s “report card” on the government’s performance.
Bersih also said previous administrations with weaker parliamentary majorities, such as Mahathir’s and Ismail’s, appeared to have been more successful when it came to implementing reforms.
It concluded that this disparity highlighted a lack of political will, and not because of a lack of numbers in parliament.
Nevertheless, Faisal acknowledged that Anwar appeared willing to engage with NGOs, adding that the Tambun MP was the first prime minister to engage with Bersih.
However, despite urging Anwar to make good on reform promises nine months ago, Bersih said there appeared to be no urgency in pursuing major electoral, institutional, and civil liberty reforms. – November 20, 2024