100 DAYS | Pakatan Harapan has passed its 100th day in government, and attention will now turn to the coalition's longer-term promises, the implementation of which will prove challenging.

Among these is the pledge to abolish tolls. Works Minister Baru Bian's statement that taking over all the toll concessionaires will cost RM400 billion had already sparked an outcry in the opposition, who accused the government of trying to wriggle its way out of fulfilling its promise.

However, Bersatu policy and strategy bureau chief Rais Hussin, who was part of committee that drafted the Harapan manifesto, assured that efforts were being taken to get this done.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Rais said these efforts are focussed on intracity tolled highways, such as those connecting parts of the Klang Valley.

"For intracity (tolled highways), that is something being studied to see what will happen if we take over. This is where we need studies that will require a lot of financing details.

Rais said the Harapan government had inherited a huge debt from the previous government, and taking over toll concessionaires would also mean assuming more liability, as Putrajaya would also be assuming the debts of these companies.

"The cost is significant because of the lopsided agreements signed by the previous government,' he said.

Rais said Putrajaya wants to renegotiate with the concessionaires, instead of engaging in lengthy legal battles which could become a "bigger problem."

For intercity highways, particularly the North-South Expressway (Plus), Rais said the focus will be on ensuring no further hikes or even a reduction in toll cost.

Rais believes this can be realistically achieved by resolving the inflated maintenance cost being passed on to highway users.

"Why is it (toll) expensive? The often cited reason is maintenance cost, but we found out what cost RM300,000 in maintenance is being billed at RM3 million.

“Contracts were awarded to certain people or groups, sometimes the division chiefs (of political parties).

"So, we are now trying to make sure the maintenance cost will remain low through an official tendering process," he said.

UEC lightning rod

Another contentious promise is the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), the certification for Chinese independent high school graduates, which had generated controversy early on even though it was not part of Harapan's pledges for its first 100 days.

The UEC is seen as an important point for Chinese educationists, but is facing pushback from certain Malay groups for fear that its recognition would undermine the national language.

Already, the controversy had cost Education Minister Maszlee Malik (photo) support, with a recent Merdeka Centre survey finding his disapproval rating among Chinese to be relatively high even though it was conducted during the 'honeymoon' period.

Rais acknowledged the UEC was a "sensitive" issue, but said more attention should be paid towards the wording of the promise, which reads: "Pakatan Harapan will undertake to recognise UEC certificates to enter public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) provided that applicants have a credit in Bahasa Melayu at the SPM level".

However, Rais zoomed in on the subsequent sentence which read: "For this purpose, the UEC certificate will be assessed to be equivalent to the existing general qualification for entry into IPTA".

"What is the existing general qualification? You must have credit in Bahasa Malaysia, you must have credit in mathematics, science and history. This is the general qualification.

"And the process of accreditation will be done by the National Accreditation Board," he added.

Much attention had been focussed on the first sentence, which only mentions the need for a credit in Bahasa Malaysia. This led to a debate on whether a credit in History will also be a requirement.

The UEC has its own History subject but it is not recognised by the National Accreditation Board.

The position may not sit well with Chinese educationists and the issue will likely continue to be a lightning rod.

'Didn't break appointments promise'

Rais also noted that there had been claims that Harapan had broken its promises when it appointed Tommy Thomas (photo) as attorney-general and named others to key positions without going through a parliamentary select committee (PSC).

"Everyone was crying out in anxiety, how can you (appoint the attorney-general), you need a PSC and so on but Parliament was not in session at that point of time.

"There was a need for a proper attorney-general because the previous attorney-general, for obvious reasons, cannot continue, it was simply untenable.

"Given the circumstances and pragmatism, we had to appoint the best possible person at that time and his contract is for two years, it is not five years," he said.

Rais said once the PSC was in place, Harapan can then implement the vetting process within the five-year period.

He stressed that Harapan had a five-year time frame to fulfil this particular promise on appointment vetting, as it was not part of the 100-day pledge.

The Dewan Rakyat House Committee yesterday resolved to set up several PSCs, including the Select Committee on Major Public Appointments.

Likewise, Rais also addressed the issue of former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Ariff Md Yusof’s appointment as Dewan Rakyat speaker.

Ariff is not an MP, contrary to Harapan’s manifesto promise that the new Dewan Rakyat speaker would be a member of the House.

However, Rais said little attention had been paid to two other criteria promised by the manifesto which had been fulfilled, which was to appoint someone with integrity and good character.

"The only thing that he didn't fulfil was being a member of the House, but that can be done within five years," he said.

This interview was jointly conducted by Nigel Aw, Norman Goh and Zikri Kamarulzaman.

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