PETALING JAYA: The government has to be tougher, especially when race, religion and royalty issues are wrongly used to protect narrow vested interests, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said today.
He urged the government to move more resolutely to serve national and public interests. The Asli Centre of Public Policy Studies chairman cited the recent Merdeka Survey as showing that the public and popular rating of the government has been declining.
Ramon said the poor rating could be due to several reasons, among which are inadequate consultations with the public and with the opposition over the ratification of the Rome Statute and other international conventions.
“Some ministries have been criticised for not taking the public and professionals into greater confidence before introducing important policies that could badly affect stakeholders,” Ramon said in his first-year assessment of Pakatan Harapan (PH) as the federal government.
“Some policies that are in the best national and public interests have to be implemented with greater courage and conviction.”
“The public has to be assured that the full truth be told about the alleged enforced disappearance of Malaysians. Fear is created and confidence suffers, by playing down the Suhakam report on this sensitive security and public safety issue.”
Ramon pointed out that foreign labour has been a source of sore concern for Malaysians and the labour movement. “Even our large numbers of unemployed suffer, due to our past flip flop labour policies,” he said.
He said the minimum wage could be raised to RM1,500 per month much earlier.
“Income disparities are widening here and all over the world and are causing much frustration and misery to hard-working Malaysian workers.”
Ramon suggested that the government introduce an anti-inflation package to lower the cost of living. He said this can be done by increasing more competition on the source of food supplies and less protectionism.
