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Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia on 24 November 2022 and his Cabinet was sworn in on 3 December 2022. On 13 March 2023, CSO Platform for Reform released our 'First 100 Days of the Unity Government of Malaysia' report.

The Madani government continued to affirm its dedication to addressing concerns of racism and religious intolerance, anti-corruption, and effective governance. The expectation of his supporters is that his administration will introduce moderation and stability to Malaysia.

As a reform focused group, we continued to monitor the government the whole year, and we are pleased to announce that we are launching the One Year of the Unity Government Report that highlights the successes, shortcomings and work in progress of the government especially on the institutional reform agenda.

With a sharper focus on institutional reform through the four core focus, and the recognition of CSO Platform for Reform as a reform group further enhance the relevance of the platform and the reform agenda work that we do to contribute to the nation building efforts. The engagements directly empowered the members of the CSO Platform as more activities were carried out.

From October 2022 to October 2023, the Platform was able to engage better with Anwar Ibrahim’s government at 36%; compared to 17% for the same duration of 12 months (October 2021 to October 2022) with Ismail Sabri’s government. This is a 19% increase in strategic activities, which showed that the space for reform agenda discussion is more encouraging, and that it is a better time for civil society to engage with stakeholders.

The preliminary ‘report card’ serves as a check and balance measure against the new government and what the public can expect from the administration. The 100-day CSO Platform's report highlighted some areas of concern in the Madani government's performance. One major issue identified was the slow progress in repealing draconian laws, which continued to be used to trample freedom of expression and speech. Additionally, the report pointed out the lack of progress in tackling corruption and improving transparency within the government. The CSO Platform also expressed disappointment with the government's performance within the first 100 days; however, the report concluded that there is room for improvement and urged the government to take swift action in addressing these pressing concerns. Granted, during the initial 100 days, the government’s focus was ensuring political stability within its newly formed unity government while managing public expectations, which may have influenced the pace and scope of reform initiatives during the initial 100 days of his premiership. It has been one year since the 15th General Election saw Anwar Ibrahim take an oath as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister. The CSO Platform is now reporting what else is amiss and what progress has been made since the last 100 days. This report is the culmination of the monitoring and reporting process of the Prime Minister and the government during their 12-month tenure.

Progression in the direction of the CSO Platform, which is centred on four core priority areas—reform of key laws/policies, institutions, parliament and state legislative assemblies, and governance leadership—has been significantly slower than anticipated. The performance of the Madani administration during its inaugural year in office was lukewarm, with only minor reforms documented. As a result of the government's criticised inability to implement much-needed reforms and address the economy, public disillusionment has increased, and the Prime Minister's approval rating has dipped to 50%. The Malaysian economy has expanded at a sluggish rate, and inflation has been creeping up.

The Madani government must exert considerably more effort to ensure that more substantial reforms are implemented. Already, proposals for regressive legislation, such as citizenship laws, are considered to be tabled in Parliament. Legislation that stifles criticism and dissent remains in effect, and the Malaysian government has encountered persistent challenges in effectively addressing corruption and accountability concerns.

Building on the 100-day report, which will serve as the foundation for this report, it will assess favourable accomplishments, ongoing initiatives, gaps, and missteps based on the four key priority areas of which the CSO Platform is focusing: governance leadership reform, institutions reform, parliament and state legislative assembly reform, and key laws and policies reform. The four core themes will guide the report analysis in addition to the collective recommendations, in hopes of supplementing and informing the government’s work through the aspirations of people on the ground.

CSO Platform for Reform hopes to continue the uptrend in strategic engagements with the Madani government and government agencies, to organise capacity building, advocacy and community outreach programmes to ensure that institutional reform is not just discussed at the policy making levels, but to be inclusive and uphold the peoples’ voices to ensure that no one is left behind.

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