Since his swearing-in on Nov 24, 2022, Anwar and the unity government he leads have seen their fair share of hits and misses. FMT takes a look at the key highs and lows of his first 100 days as the country’s 10th prime minister.
HITS
Constitutional amendment to citizenship laws
In February, the Cabinet agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to enable automatic Malaysian citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers. Presently, Malaysian women have to apply for their children’s citizenship through lengthy registration processes.
RM5 meals for hardcore poor under Menu Rahmah programme
In January, the government launched the Menu Rahmah initiative, which sees more than 15,000 restaurants offering RM5 meals. The number of participating restaurants is expected to double in March.
20% pay cut for ministers until the economy recovers
In December, Anwar announced that Cabinet ministers will take a 20% pay cut until the economy has fully recovered. Anwar himself is not taking his prime minister’s and finance minister’s salaries. He also turned down the use of a newly bought Mercedes-Benz S600 limousine as his official car to save costs.
Better deals for Sabah, Sarawak
Anwar has made some major announcements where Sabah and Sarawak’s rights are concerned. The annual special grants for both states have been revised to RM300 million (Sarawak) and RM260 million (Sabah). The two states have also been granted autonomy over infrastructure projects under RM50 million.
Targeted electricity tariff subsidies
The government has introduced targeted electricity tariff subsidies, maintaining them only for households, SMEs and agriculture companies. This will save the government some RM4.16 billion.
MISSES
Anwar holds two portfolios
Anwar’s decision to helm the finance ministry drew criticism and concerns over the lack of checks and balances. In the past, Pakatan Harapan leaders have spoken against the prime minister holding another portfolio.
Nurul Izzah’s appointment as PM’s senior adviser
Anwar came under fire after it was revealed that his daughter, Nurul Izzah, had been appointed his senior adviser on economics and finance. Amid criticism of nepotism, Nurul Izzah relinquished her role.
Reduced development funds for MPs
The government’s move to slash development allocations for MPs by nearly 70% from RM3.8 million to RM1.3 million was met with disappointment from both sides of the divide. Many voiced concern it would greatly impact rural constituencies.
No equal allocation for MPs
The government has been criticised for the lack of allocations for opposition MPs under the revised 2023 budget. Perikatan Nasional’s MPs have pointed out that equal allocations are part of PH’s manifesto.
HOTLY DEBATED
The two DPMs
The appointment of Fadillah Yusof as the country’s first East Malaysian deputy prime minister was hailed by many as a recognition of the importance of the Borneon states. However, the appointment of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the other deputy prime minister raised eyebrows as the Umno president is still facing 47 counts of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Digitalised road tax
On Feb 10, the government announced that private vehicle owners would no longer have to display their motor vehicle licences, better known as road tax. Some welcomed the move while others voiced concerns about the delays it would cause at roadblocks as the authorities would need to use a system to check if a car’s road tax had expired.
Return of foreign workers’ one-stop centre to the home ministry
On Dec 22, the government placed the one-stop centre for foreign worker recruitment under the home ministry, six months after the previous administration placed it under the human resources ministry. Employer groups had mixed reactions to this, with some saying it complicated the recruitment process, while others said bureaucracy was the real problem.
Sosma
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail drew flak from politicians and human rights groups after he announced the government will not review the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma). Some, including former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan, said Sosma should not be repealed and only improved upon.
Budget 2023
On Feb 24, Anwar unveiled an RM388 billion budget for 2023. SMEs were among the biggest beneficiaries and welcomed the various budget initiatives, but civil servants, tourism industry players and some Sarawakian assemblymen said the budget fell short of their expectations. Others also pointed out that the government missed the opportunity to resolve structural issues in the economy.
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