KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as the 10th prime minister could finally herald in a new dawn not only on the political front but also see a host of new initiatives introduced to fulfil the election pledges made in the 15th General Election (GE15) campaign.
The 75-year old, who leads Pakatan Harapan (PH), had promised to make sweeping changes in the administration, outlining measures like combating corruption and strengthening democracy, managing the cost of living, improving competitiveness and also reducing the size of a bloated cabinet.
PH had in its manifesto pledged to overcome the cost of living issues by eliminating cartels, ensuring sufficient supplies of food products and increasing the workforce in agriculture to guarantee food security.
The coalition also pledged to build a clean and trustworthy system of governance by strengthening the integrity of institutions, safeguarding parliamentary sovereignty as the core pillar of democracy and guaranteeing media freedom together with the rakyat's freedom of expression.
The coalition is also committed to increase the competitiveness of Malaysia's plural society across by reaching out to those across geographic location, socioeconomic class, background and ethnicity.
Anwar's electoral pledges also outlined action in tackling climate issues faced by the country through implementing a climate change act, ecological fiscal transfers, marine protection areas and transboundary haze act.
PH also pledged to see the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report as steps in empowering the peace and prosperity in the regions of Sabah and Sarawak.
The most defining of the pledge made by Anwar is his determination to axe the bloated 70-minister cabinet brought upon by the previous administration and to take a pay cut.
Anwar had said he felt ashamed as the RM80,000 awarded as salary for a prime minister was in stark contrast to those of an Orang Asli villager he visited who struggled to even make RM400, as did minimum wage earners of RM1,500.