KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government is open to criticism and differences of opinion, says veteran writer, and special media and communications adviser to the prime minister, Datuk A. Kadir Jasin.
He said there was no harm in anyone criticising the government.
Instead, he said, more room should be made for healthy discussions, especially within the PH coalition.
“Exchanges and differences of ideas and opinions are not necessarily an argument, but a democratic process taking place,” he said at the Meet the Press 2019 discussion session organised by Malaysia Human Rights Commission today.
Kadir cited two instances of democracy taking its course in Malaysia Baharu — defence of the media and public uproar over a minister’s aide’s complaint to broadcaster RTM and Johor DAP committee member Dr Boo Cheng Hau’s call for Prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to step down.
He said, unlike the old Barisan Nasional government, the PH government was open, mature and capable of discussing the issue amicably at the coalition’s presidential meeting.
“If it was like the old times, if someone from either MIC or MCA were to make any negative remarks or call on the premier to step down, like now, I’m sure the elected representative would have been fired from the party,” Kadir said describing the freedom and understanding among the four parties in the coalition.
He said it was the beauty of democracy that no one was not restricted or barred from saying anything against the leader.
”We don’t fire anyone for their criticism do we?
“This PH government is a democratic government, which accepts criticism openly and makes it a point to improve, if there’s room to do better.
“Things like asking a person to step down, or carry on are all common practices in a democracy, but after a long period (under the BN government), we tend to see these things as unusual.
”Why don’t we start accepting that these are common practices in democracy?” he said.
On Tuesday, Boo had called on Dr Mahathir to step down because he had allegedly belittled the PH election manifesto when he said it was “a guide, not a bible”.