Pakatan’s Missteps Mar Ambitious Reformist Agenda

The Straits Times

17 February 2019

Malaysia’s new administration is fast losing its shine as a reformist party with integrity, after a spate of news reports that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) leaders have lied about their credentials, misused public resources as well as welcomed defectors from rival parties they had previously accused of endemic corruption. Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) accepted seven MPs from former ruling party Umno, igniting fears that the country’s top management will revert to the scandal-ridden heyday of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government. RSIS senior fellow Johan Saravanamuttu said it is unfair to write off PH as just another political pact set on consolidating power and enriching itself like BN.

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