Dr Lim Chee Han, a spokesperson for Manifesto Rakyat 2.0, and Stanley Yong Yew Wei, the chairman of the Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) coalition, have urged the ruling parties in the ‘Madani’ government to address growing public dissatisfaction, disappointment and loss of trust arising from the political parties’ failure to fulfil their electoral promises.

They expressed concern over the predominantly negative reactions in the comments section of recent Manifesto Rakyat Facebook posts, as well as the relatively muted response to the Manifesto Rakyat 2.0 campaign to gather policy proposals and survey responses.

Yong noted that although voter turnout in the recent Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections edged up slightly, continued political disillusionment could cause some voters to lose interest in voting in future state and general elections.

He was particularly concerned that right-wing forces may exploit dissatisfaction with the government and ruling parties to fuel racial tensions and social division.

Lim said many Malaysians now respond to political manifestos with remarks such as “here they go again, trying to fish for votes” or sarcasm that “an election manifesto is not the Bible”.

Such reactions reflect a widespread perception that politicians forget their promises after coming to power, fail to address people’s everyday concerns, and only revive their promises when elections approach.

As a result, people increasingly distrust political manifestos and policy discussions.

The two said this disappointment is not without cause. Although the government has announced reforms such as separating the roles of the attorney general and public prosecutor and introducing freedom of information legislation, some reforms are seen as too watered down to meet public expectations.

At the same time, the cost of living continues to rise while some subsidies and welfare measures have been reduced or withdrawn, without people seeing clear improvements to their economic wellbeing.

Under such circumstances, election-time promises alone are no longer enough for ruling parties to regain public trust.

Lim also urged voters to revisit the parties’ 2022 general election manifestos: which promises have been fulfilled? Which are still being implemented? And which have politicians barely mentioned since?

He said that even with the constraints of a coalition government, the public has the right to demand clear updates on the implementation of electoral promises. Forming a coalition government should not mean putting those promises aside.

The two stressed that civil society should not withdraw from politics because of disappointment.

Instead, people’s voices should be organised collectively to push political parties to shift political competition away from power struggles, political rhetoric and racialism, and towards the policy issues that genuinely matter to the public.

They pointed out that Manifesto Rakyat 1.0 played an important role as a bridge between civil society and political parties before the previous general election. Before the parties released their manifestos, the Manifesto Rakyat team met representatives of Pakatan Harapan’s three component parties, the MCA of Barisan Nasional, Bersatu of Perikatan Nasional, Pejuang, Muda and the socialist party PSM, among others, to present policy proposals submitted by the public.

Manifesto Rakyat 1.0 covered 27 policy areas and brought together around 300 public policy proposals in a 180-page document. Of its top 10 major policy demands alone, around 70% and 60% were reflected in the respective election manifestos of PH and BN.

Among these were the constitutional amendment allowing Malaysian mothers abroad to pass citizenship to their children, and the call to repeal the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) – both important policy outcomes associated with the Manifesto Rakyat 1.0. The former has received cross-party support in the Parliament and been implemented, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced that the UUCA would be repealed.

These developments demonstrate that policy proposals originating from the public can influence national policy.

Yong and Lim therefore called on ordinary people to regain faith in democratic politics and not leave the responsibility for changing the country entirely to political parties and politicians. “The people are the bosses,” they said. Voters should actively articulate the policies they want and demand concrete implementation plans from political parties.

The deadline for submitting policy proposals to Manifesto Rakyat 2.0 has been extended to 17 September. Members of the public can submit proposals under any of the 34 policy areas here, and also participate in a simple public survey poll to express their views here.

The two urged the people to turn their dissatisfaction with politics into concrete policy demands and make sure political parties truly hear the people’s voice. “The political change the people want starts here,” they stressed. – Manifesto Rakyat / GBM

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