Underpromise, overdeliver

‘Actions speak louder than words.’ – Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865); the 16th President of the United States

IT is now very common to see politicians and political parties drafting their lists of pledges for elections. There are a few approaches to consider when it comes to this.

The first is to outline realistic targets with a few easily achievable goals.

The second is to make grand promises, essentially offering incentives to voters with little regard for the implementation process.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government, during its heyday, was known for not overwhelming voters with extravagant election promises.

I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that the things they pledged in their manifesto were less desirable, but their approach was very fundamental.

Meanwhile, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government of 2018- 2020 was guilty of making overly sweet promises, so sweet that it helped them win the election. But that’s when the problem began.

It knew it had to deliver on its words, which meant implementing reforms or facing the anger of their supporters.

To some extent, it attempted to fulfil this, but the pace of its actions worked against itself, causing unease among the Malay voting public, the majority of whom did not support it.

This, along with the realisation that its promises couldn’t realistically be fulfilled, contributed to its downfall during its first term in the federal government.

Then there is the approach of underpromising and overdelivering. An example of this is the free tertiary education policy implemented by the Sarawak government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). It’s important to stress that this policy was never promised in its election manifesto. However, it will soon be implemented without any political agenda attached.

The idea of free education has long been discussed not only in Sarawak but throughout the country.

PH attempted to address the burden of student loans in its manifesto.

As far as I can remember, the student movement that opposed the BN government before GE14 campaigned for the abolition of PTPTN.

PH understood that achieving this would be difficult, so instead, it pledged in its GE14 manifesto to defer repayment of PTPTN loans for borrowers earning less than RM4,000. However, this promise was not fulfilled. Even before the proposal for free tertiary education was introduced by the Sarawak government, it had implemented a mechanism to reduce the burden on Sarawakian PTPTN borrowers.

This was done through the PTPTN discount scheme, which offered a 30 per cent discount on loan repayments.

I can confirm this as I am one of the beneficiaries of this initiative.

However, providing free tertiary education at state-owned universities addresses the root cause of the problem, which is the high cost of higher education. Recently, there has been much debate about the sustainability of this initiative by the Sarawak government, which is understandable as Sarawak is the first in the country to implement such a policy.

Deputy Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Minister Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee assured observers that the sustainability of the programme is not an issue, given Sarawak’s increasing annual revenue.

The programme will be sustainable, and the government does not need to introduce new taxes or cut spending from other areas to fund it. In a way, this will ensure equal education opportunities for all Sarawakians, regardless of their background and income.

A noteworthy point made by the deputy minister is that this initiative will motivate the younger generation, particularly those who are less privileged. Previously, their mindset was that they didn’t need to study hard or dream of attending universities because their families couldn’t afford it.

That will soon change as they will have an avenue to pursue tertiary education. In politics and policymaking, it is crucial to consider the realworld implications and impacts of a policy and this free tertiary education policy will have farreaching effects, changing the lives of many Sarawakians.

The role and expectation of a government should not be limited to providing monthly handouts to the underprivileged but should also include creating opportunities for success for those who work hard enough.

That is Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s dream, and it is the Sarawak dream. Amid the boom in industrialisation in areas of the new economy, we must also develop a competent human capital capacity. This is the way forward. 

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.