KUALA LUMPUR – The National Day celebration following the 14th general election (GE14) in May which saw the establishment of the new Pakatan Harapan government, gives Malaysians new hopes and aspirations, said academicians and political analysts.
They opined the spirit of the people's victory should not stop at that and they should be the guiding force to monitor the effectiveness of policies and structure of the new government to realise the people's aspirations and to strengthen unity among the people towards a more prosperous Malaysia.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Communication and Media Studies Faculty lecturer, Ahmad Farami Abdul Karim said the message Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave at the launch of the National Month and Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign on Sunday, among others referred to a change in liberating the people from adverse conditions and social problems brought about by the progress taking place in the country.
"The message also means returning the country back to the people. Democracy will be more meaningful with the government of the people, by the people and for the people. It means the celebration of independence this time is in the context of the people's sovereignty,” he said.
In the launching ceremony in Penang, Dr Mahathir described the National Day this year as being more meaningful after the people succeeded in liberating themselves from the earlier administration without any violence and this showed Malaysia is among the most fortunate and peaceful land.
“The celebration of our independence is even more meaningful as we are not only rejoicing the liberation from the colonial powers but also from the previous iron fist administration and kleptocratic government,” said Dr Mahathir.
Commenting further, Ahmad Farami said the message in conjunction with the National Day by Dr Mahathir could bring great changes by boosting the spirit and moral of the people and invigorating their patriotism.
He said the people would be celebrating independence with full awareness about their contributions in building a new Malaysia apart from the responsibility of protecting the country.
Political analyst, Dr Ainul Adzellie said the National Day celebration would be very meaningful as the people had rejected a kleptocratic government in GE14 and chose the Pakatan Harapan government.
“Tun Dr Mahathir's message was very significant and would bring about major changes to the people and country as the people have rejected corrupted leaders for the sake of the nation.
"The people have high hopes for the new government and it is now seen as attempting to help the people facing the high cost of living by giving Subsistence Aid to the needy group. The people have also been urged to support the policies of the government for a more prosperous future,” he said.
Meanwhile Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) political analyst, Assoc. Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said the celebration of independence could be an opportunity to unite the people after GE14.
According to him, the message of independence should be celebrated by all the people regardless of their decision in GE14 as the National Day crosses political ideologies which should be put aside during this national celebration.
Moving forward, Azmi said the primary issue in celebrating the country's independence this year was the rising cost of living and it would be more meaningful if the strategy of fighting the cost of living is felt by every strata of society.
“At the moment, the benefits of lower cost of living have not been felt and with the introduction of the Sales and Services Tax (SST), there will be more significant effects of the benefits on the people.
“And when this happens, the cries of independence by people would indeed be meaningful,” he said and hoped the difference in political ideologies should not prevent the National Day from being celebrated together.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) political analyst, Dr Syed Agil Syed Alsagoff said the celebration of independence reflected the importance of the rights and roles of the people in determining the form of administration they desire.
He said it also fulfilled the call and voice of the people to demand for a more efficient and effective democratic leadership.
"The people's wave proves the role of each individual in evaluating the performance and competency of a government was translated through the ballots,” he said.
He also drew attention to the many issues and approaches of government policies which should be further refined to emphasise on improving the living standard and to add value to the people's lives and socio economic conditions in the country.
"I hope the celebration of the country's independence this year would not only mark the people's victory for a new government in GE14 but also as a catalyst for the people to continue the momentum of struggling for the people and a better and more progressive country,” he said.
He said the people should take on the role to monitor the effectiveness of policies and structure of the new government for a better Malaysia in future.
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