For Better Or Worse? 100 Days Since GE14

100 days is the yardstick by which we can get the measure of a new administration.

- Ong Xiang Hong

Their achievements to date, policies they have enacted, laws they have passed – these serve as indicators of the administration’s direction, effectiveness, and popular support. In particular, the 100-day milestone represents the end of the ‘honeymoon’ period for a new government, leading to greater scrutiny and criticism from stakeholders.

On 9 May 2018, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition won a historic victory in the Malaysian general elections. In the run-up to the elections, PH released a 150-page manifesto outlining their promises to the people. In the end, their election manifesto and promises to reform the government garnered them enough votes to oust the incumbent Barisan Nasional ruling party, setting a precedent in Malaysian political history.

17 August 2018 marks the hundredday mark since the day PH was elected into government. However, campaigning for a general election and actually governing a country are two very different things. With the full weight of government upon them, PH has realised their promises may have been one step too far. Now with a better view of the Malaysian economy, PH has gradually scaled back some of their initial campaign promises.

Notably, PH’s election manifesto contained ten promises in the first 100 days. While these promises were indeed based on legitimate concerns, they are undeniably populist and will need considerable political capital to implement. Despite PH riding a wave of populism themselves, a scattershot approach to policymaking will not engender confidence in the new government. Indeed, former Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz has acknowledged publicly that it would be better to focus on attainable promises instead of haphazardly trying to meet all, with poor results.