Who shall we vote to do government?

The motives behind this election have been self-serving for a group of politicians who just want to hold onto power. No vision for the Rakyat and nation, just the pursuit of self-interest.

Three prime ministers in as many years, yet the cabinet has largely been the same.

Leadership in government is more akin to playing musical chairs than any passionate commitment to public policy, administration, and service to the Rakyat. This is why the election has been called around eight months early, while the country is facing the monsoon season. Floods are already forcing the cancellation of some political campaigning events.

When the Rakyat heads to vote on November 19, they must remember these last three years of political instability.

The reality they are going to vote about who will become the next prime minister, rather than how we are going to solve national problems.

The question that must be asked is if a Barisan Nasional government is voted into power, will this install political stability?

If there is a hung parliament and the same old group negotiates yet another hybrid government, will this install political stability?

Hybrid cabinets just don’t seem to work as well as coalition cabinets. They are just a recipe for more instability.

While all the political infighting has been going on, the money supply has been growing exponentially, and the government has been spending money and raising public debt, contributing to inflation imported into the country because of a falling Ringgit and disrupted supply chains.

Is there a potential government out there that is willing to tackle this problem head-on?

BN is promising to spend more if they get back into government. The 12th Malaysian Plan (RM12) did not tackle the real structural problems facing the economy. It skirted around reform, promising more of the same, where almost half the capitalization of the Malaysian Bursa is controlled by GLCs. GLCs compete against private enterprises and are preventing the Malaysian economy jump from being rent-seeking based to one based upon innovation.

Every Bumiputera class F contractor knows that lucrative government tenders and contracts are a matter of cables, not professionality, efficiency, quality, and service. The distribution of opportunity must be made fairer.

My two cents.

Joseph Chan.