KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is hoping to counter Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s high approval ratings by touting the merits of its “100 day” reform agenda which promise more money for civil servants and repealing repressive laws. 

They also intend to utilise the successes of two PR states, Penang and Selangor, as fodder for the counter-offensive campaign against the prime minister’s approval ratings which stood at 69 per cent this month among voters in peninsular Malaysia, slipping slightly from 72 per cent in May. 

The Merdeka Centre poll showed that 74 per cent of Malays, 54 per cent of Chinese and 85 per cent of Indians were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance, in a major boost for Najib as he mulls the possibility of snap polls. 

“It is important for us to be able to demonstrate to voters that we are able to function as an effective coalition. The only way to do that is for the voters to see substance in our policies,” said DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua, citing the need to highlight successes in Penang and Selangor as an example. 

Pua told The Malaysian Insider that Najib’s high ratings as an individual could be “challenged” if PR could convince voters that it could deliver results as a cohesive unit, and just through the actions of a single individual. 

“We need to push our reform policies inked out during last week’s convention, and we need to back it up with our successes in the state administration. Penang is doing well, it’s getting investments, corruption-free, people are getting bonuses, its these sort of ideas that need to be carried across the board. 

“We also have to continue to chip at the programmes that are being implemented by BN — we have to show voters that Najib’s programmes are not really that different from the BN of the past,” he added, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. 

PR’s policy framework, titled the “Pakatan agenda”, is seen as an answer and solution to questions surrounding the opposition’s administrative plans in comparison to BN. 

Speculation is rife that a general election will be held as early as next year although BN’s mandate does not expire until May 2013 

Among the instant reforms promised by the PR coalition, within the first 100 days of taking over Putrajaya, is acknowledging the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month. 

PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that a PR federal government could afford to pay for a proposed allowance for teachers — projected to be RM3.2 billion annually — by eliminating the “wastages” of the BN administration. 

Other “instant” reforms include the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA), abolishing the toll system by instructing Khazanah Berhad, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to take over highway assets from the concessionaires, as well as offering free wireless Internet access to those in urban and semi-urban areas. 

“We have already shown that we can govern better than BN on a state level. We just need to make voters aware of the changes that we can bring on a federal level. When PR takes over federal power, there will be differences in terms of financial management of federal funds and the governance of all states,” said DAP Youth Chief (Dapsy) Anthony Loke. 

Loke claimed that the most effective way to counter Najib’s popularity was to work with “tangible issues.” 

“We have to work with tangle issues, what people are looking forward to. ISA, reform of legislative laws is important but people want change to issues which affect them on a daily basis. 

“For urban folks, the political will to restructure the toll system is the best way to go. If we can reduce the toll rate, we can eventually abolish the toll system. That way, we will be able to increase people’s disposable income, and this will sway votes our way,” Loke told The Malaysian Insider. 

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said that Najib’s new ratings did not take into account the effect of the “Pakatan Agenda”, saying that if the survey put that into the mix, Najib would not be “so popular.” 

“These factors were not taken into account by the survey. I am confident that if these new factors were to be added, Najib’s approval ratings would dip further. Also the Wikileaks revelation, that connects him (Najib) to the murder of Altantuya Shariibuu, this will definitely affect his ratings. He has not answered the report, while Anwar has done so. So it’s still too soon to jump to conclusions on his popularity among voters,” Mahfuz told The Malaysian Insider. 

The Pokok Sena MP said that PR needed to address the rural voters more and providde copies of the Pakatan Agenda. 

“Besides ceramahs, we need to get the message across especially to rural voters of what we can do for them if we elected in. The orange book, containing our manifesto needs to be disseminated across the country.we also need to educate them on the economic success of Penang. There is a misconception that Malays are being sidelined in the state, which is not true. We have to correct this misconception before the next elections,” added Mahfuz. 

According to the Merdeka Centre, the slightly lower approval rating for Najib may be due to a reduction in government subsidies for fuel and sugar, suggesting Barisan Nasional (BN) is still vulnerable voter backlash due to price hikes. 

The price of fuel and sugar went up on December 4 as part of the Najib administration’s ongoing drive to reduce subsidies. 

The price of RON95 rose five sen to RM1.90 per litre, diesel by five sen per litre to RM1.80 and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by five sen to RM1.90 per kg. Sugar also went up by 20 sen, to RM2.10 per kg. 

A fuel consumption tax has also been proposed by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to cut next year’s RM7 billion subsidy bill and help reduce the budget deficit to 5.4 per cent. 

Despite concerns about price hikes, a little over half of those polled by Merdeka Center still felt the country was headed in the right direction. 

Fifty-four per cent of voters surveyed think the country was on the right track, compared to 52 per cent in May. 

The optimism was fuelled by the perception that the economy continued to perform reasonably well, according to pollster. 

In another indication of the public’s optimistic mood, 53 per cent of those polled said they felt economic conditions were favourable, an improvement from 47 per cent in May. 

However, voter optimism in the economy for the year ahead fell six per cent from May, with just 47 per cent expecting the economy to be better in one year’s time. 

Voter pessimism about an uncertain economic outlook is likely to be another factor in favour of early polls.