Ex-MCA chief lauds Loke, gives mixed review of Madani govt

Ex-MCA chief lauds Loke, gives mixed review of Madani govt

Lee Way Loon
Published: Aug 3, 2025 9:03 AM
Updated: 12:47 PM


Summary

• Former MCA president Chua Soi Lek gives mixed reviews of the current Madani administration.

• While he lauds the government for reforming the subsidy mechanism, Soi Lek says the administration is getting disconnected from the public.

• He also praises Transport Minister Anthony Loke for being hardworking.

More than two and a half years into Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek offered a mixed review of the Madani government’s performance.

He praised its political will on subsidy reforms, while criticising its disconnect with the public and business community.

Chua credited the government for showing determination in restructuring Malaysia’s long-standing subsidy mechanisms, despite political risk.

He recalled that during the administration of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, when Chua was a member of the National Economic Council, the BN government also considered such reforms but ultimately abandoned the plan.

“The meetings chaired by Najib discussed it several times, but he eventually shelved it because the 2013 general election was approaching,” said the 78-year-old former health minister in a Chinese-language podcast with Malaysiakini.

The podcast was released last Friday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

In contrast, Chua said Anwar’s administration had shown the political will to proceed with the restructuring and deserved recognition for that.

He also commended the Madani government for continuing and gradually increasing cash aid for the lower-income group, and noted Malaysia’s improved standing in global competitiveness rankings, climbing from 34th to 23rd last year.

“But let’s not get too excited,” he cautioned. “We ranked 14th back in 2015.”

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak

Chua added that the government had increased tax collection, reduced the national fiscal deficit, and earned favourable credit ratings internationally.


‘Out of touch, poor communication’

However, he also said the government’s service delivery and efficiency had not improved, and in some areas, had deteriorated.

“I think their biggest flaw is their inability to communicate effectively.

“People from all walks of life - businesses, enterprises, NGOs - feel this government is out of touch with ordinary citizens. If you ask the businesspeople on the street, they’ll say the cost of doing business keeps rising. I’m sure you know this too.

“They feel the government treats businesspeople like ATMs. The low-income group still gets aid, but the middle class gets nothing,” he said.


Stagnant wages, taxation

Citing the government’s minimum wage policy, Chua said that while it was well-intentioned, it failed to address the stagnant wages of more experienced workers.

He also took aim at the continued implementation of the much-debated sales and service tax (SST), arguing that the now-abolished goods and services tax (GST) had been more transparent and fair.

“Most people don’t understand this, because back then it was all about singing the ‘ABCDGST’ song, right?”

Chua also criticised the government for ballooning national debt, saying the total has grown by more than RM200 billion since Anwar took office 30 months ago.

However, Anwar claimed that his administration had succeeded in paring down mounting government debt, from RM99 billion in 2022 to RM77 billion in 2024.

“The new debt that the government has incurred was RM99 billion in 2022, dropping to RM93 billion in 2023 and in 2024, the total was RM77 billion... that is less.

“They say the total amount (of debt) is more, added with the old debt and the interest that we have to pay, but I said the government promised to reduce new debt, we have fulfilled that.

“But what is being spread around... we are increasing (the debt), so it is as if we are deceiving the people. If you look at these figures, who is deceiving?” Anwar, who is also the finance minister, reportedly said so on July 21.

In a nutshell, Chua said while the Madani government had introduced reforms that could yield long-term benefits, it did little to address the public’s immediate frustrations.

“People and businesses are suffering. What is the government doing to help them? If they can’t answer that, it’ll be hard to convince voters come the next general election,” he said.


Loke lauded, not other DAP ministers

When asked about DAP ministers, Chua again offered a balanced assessment. He singled out Transport Minister Anthony Loke for praise, but noted that others still have room to improve.

“Loke speaks based on facts. He doesn’t spout nonsense or promote himself unnecessarily. People in his ministry have told me he really does work hard. He deserves credit.

“As for the others, no one’s told me anything, so I’ll let you judge for yourselves,” he said, in his trademark sarcasm.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke


Chua then criticised one unnamed DAP minister for claiming that his ministry was praised as “the best-performing” among the government ministries.

“But if you ask the public, they’ll say government departments are generally inefficient. So being number one doesn’t mean much,” he said.

Although Chua did not name the individual, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming previously made that claim in January.