KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim addressed criticism from electoral watchdog Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), which gave the government a 'D' rating for its performance in fulfilling reform promises.
"For Bersih, it is fine that they gave us a 'D', not an 'F'. A 'D' in UPSR might turn into an 'A' in SPM later. It is still early days," said Anwar in response to additional questions by Pendang member of Parliament Datuk Awang Hashim in Dewan Rakyat today.
Awang also made a jab at the prime minister for being ranked lower than predecessors Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by the watchdog.
On Bersih's criticism of allocations, however, Anwar expressed confusion over their stance.
"It disregards the fact that, as the opposition leader, I negotiated with the prime minister. Only after negotiations was it finalised. We did not accept the initial draft but the amended one," he said.
Anwar added that delays were caused by the opposition's refusal to negotiate.
"Larut (member of Parliament and opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin) is aware that our view was that negotiations were necessary. The opposition's refusal to negotiate has caused delays.
"If Pendang is willing to be a negotiator, we can start talks immediately," he quipped.
On Tuesday (Nov 19), Bersih graded the unity government a 'D' for its performance over the past two years, highlighting limited progress on reforms despite strong parliamentary support.
Chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz said that the grade reflects the government's struggle to bridge the gap between rhetoric and action on promised reforms.
According to the watchdog, Ismail and Mahathir are also ranked above Anwar due to allegedly more reform being implemented during their politically-fraught terms.