Mahathir's two-year government more determined to implement reforms, says Amanah co-founder

A founding member of Amanah says the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad was more determined to implement reforms than Anwar Ibrahim, despite the latter making it a mainstay of his political campaign for more than two decades.

Hanipa Maidin, who served as deputy law minister under the former leader's 22-month government before it was brought down by PKR's factional politics in 2020, recalled how Mahathir had honoured his promise to clean up high-level corruption by launching a crackdown on those involved in the 1MDB scandal and other financial crimes.

Hanipa acknowledged that Anwar's failure to implement reforms was partly due to the various coalitions that formed his government following the hung parliament in the 2022 general election.

He said this was not the case with the Mahathir-led PH coalition, which emerged as the clear winner of the 2018 elections.

"Maybe it's because we were the legitimate government elected by the people. It was based on the outcome of the elections, so we got to form the government," the 55-year-old lawyer, who was once a rising star in PAS before leaving the party to join splinter group Amanah, told MalaysiaNow in a recent interview.

After the last general election, Anwar's PH joined forces with Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The alliance was later joined by GPS, which said it was adhering to a royal decree, as well as several MPs from disparate parties in Sabah.

The PKR president who has made reform his main theme in his two-decade quest for the top position, has come under criticism for a series of failures to fulfil his promises to root out corruption, abolish draconian laws and ensure greater democratic space.

The appointment of Zahid as deputy prime minister in the midst of the Umno president's trial on 47 corruption charges was the first indication that Anwar's reforms would take a back seat.

Since then, Anwar's nearly two-year tenure has been marked by restrictions on press freedom through a crackdown on social media and news websites, arrests of his political enemies for sedition and controversial decisions to award government contracts that favoured political cronies.

Recently, financial news Bloomberg revealed that Anwar had interfered in the affairs of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to thwart investigations into his former aide Farhash Wafa Salvador, who had been awarded a number of lucrative corporate appointements since PH took power.

In contrast, Hanipa said that under Mahathir, anti-corruption efforts were relentless.

"I was once asked why some in the 1MDB affair were not prosecuted. I joked that they had to take a queue number because there were just too many waiting in line," said the former Sepang MP.

Hanipa recently condemned the silence of the attorney-general and the government for failing to prosecute a police officer who was caught on camera assaulting a disabled e-hailing driver.

More than four months have passed since deaf Grab driver Ong Ing Keong lodged a police report about the incident at the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in which he was punched in the face by an officer accompanying the entourage of Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.

Hanipa criticised his party leadership and said Amanah must take a stand to protest the failure to ensure justice for Ong, even if it meant quitting the government.

"If we are unable to defend the disabled, it shows our failure as leaders to speak on their behalf.

"Suddenly MPs as people of influence have lost their voice," he said, naming DAP's RSN Rayer as one such MP.

Hanipa said the failure to implement reforms was due to Anwar having to ensure his political survival in a fragile alliance with BN.

"These are the political choices he had to make."

He said the ruling parties should stop using slogans like "reformasi" and "lawan tetap lawan" (the struggle will continue), which were once the battle cry of Anwar and PH leaders.

"For me, there is no reason to chant 'lawan tetap lawan'. These were slogans that suited you when you were in the opposition.

"Now is the time to implement reformasi. 'Lawan', well, anyone can 'lawan' (fight).

"Who do you want to fight? You are the government," Hanipa said.