Cabotage policy and sliding brain quality
Published on: Saturday, February 18, 2017
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I AM struck by a little message that I received on the multi-media a few days ago.
It is simple and yet contains a high degree of truth for many Malaysian politicians as the heat of general election gathers stream. This short message reads ‘Most politicians I know have two sides of the brain; left and right.
The left has nothing right and the right has nothing left’. These few words flash out the moral and intellectual capacities or the lack of it, of our Malaysian politicians.
To a certain extent, I feel sorry for politicians. I am certain that most of them are well educated, have brains, some of them have plenty of brains but I am afraid they have allowed themselves to be blinded by the lure of election victories, glamour of being addressed as a “YB”, prospects of political offices and unimaginable wealth.
A political career in an advanced country is an avenue of service and nation building.
Many of our Malaysian politicians see it as a golden path to achieve great personal wealth.
Politicians in well managed countries enter politics after achieving business or career successes.
Many Malaysian politicians are zero before entering politics and end up very well off.
Notwithstanding the good education and brain power, many Malaysian politicians in government and opposition have lost sight of what they are suppose to do, i.e. to serve the people through nation building.
This is very much reflected in public statements in the main media and internet. Most politicians have nothing better to do than indulge in slander against their political enemies; many have used the age-old attention grabber of sex, ex-marital affairs.
The opposition leaders have also used allegations of corruption. The political discourse can be summarised with three simple words – sex, religion and corruption. Some cases may well be true but it is time for them to realise that these allegations can only do so much for them.
And nothing to benefit the ordinary Malaysians. These corruption, sex and religion cases make sensational reading for a while. I am sure many Malaysians, irrespective of race, have found them boring.
I must tell the politicians in government and opposition that these issues have little or no value in as far as attracting votes is concerned.
Malaysian politicians need and should recognise the sanctity of religions and not exploit them for personal and party agendas. Our nation is multi religious and should be accepted as such. Creditable politicians who give priority to nation building will promote that all religions want to preach good values and respect for all human kind.
Bad politicians will do exactly the opposite.
This is my dream, my utopia for our Malaysia: “Most politicians I know have two sides of the brain; left and right.
The left has everytning right and the right has everytihing right”. Is my expectation excessive? Not really.
What this simply means is that they have their heads solidly wired to their conscience.
If most Malaysian politicians have this attribute, our country would immediately be 10 times better than it is now.
Achieving high income status within the next 10 years is possible.
How can we recognise politicians with conscience and who care for the country and ordinary Malaysians?
Again this is simple. If they are genuine and true to their promises and political calling, they will stand out by the issues they talk about. Here are some of them.
Cost of living: this is a non-issue for the well off for they have plenty of money to cushion higher prices.
The ordinary and less fortunate Malaysians are being hit left, right and centre. First and most damaging is GST.
This may have saved the government from financial bankruptcy.
But it has spun a spiral of price increases of basic life items. The poor and the downtrodden are the worst hit.
GST has rendered the honest civil servants, retirees, small businessmen, wage earners defencelesss.
A concerned politician would give plenty of focus on coming up with measures and policy suggestions to assist the worst affected. No politician in government and opposition has done this. Worst is that Federal Government ministers keep on defending GST but offers zilch to make life easier for those worst affected.
Bloated Federal civil services: The president of the civil service union has said that this is not the case.
Malaysia has one of the highest civil servant to population ratio at almost 1:20. The cost to keep the 1.5 million is RM70 billion or about 25pc of total annual budget. This is the “over counter cost”. The ‘under counter cost’ like outsourcing, corruption and dubious procurements can be astounding.
Good Malaysian politicians should crusade for a trimmer civil service, better pay for them, and more honesty among the officers. Are they concerned that a great number of civil servants are in debt up to their necks?
Money saved can be channelled to the people in need. Datuk Musa has got the right formula in this matter.
He has kept the number under control and transformed the Sabah civil service and GLCs.
For his hands-on management, the Auditor General has awarded Sabah 5 star rating for more than 10 years consecutively. Sabah is the only state to have received this unique honour.
Improve income for ordinary Malaysians: The politicians often challenge each other on the income or GDP.
This in itself is meaningless unless there is a close examination of the distribution of income.
Malaysia has one of the most skewed income distributions in the middle and high income world.
Good politicians will advocate policies to even the great disparities between the top 5pc and the bottom 50pc of the population. I am afraid nothing of this sort is happening.
Poor Malaysians cannot make ends meet: The current poor state of the global and national economy have inflicted unemployment and wages not matching with inflation on poor Malaysians.
There are many who do not have enough money for their children to go to school at the beginning of each year.
Numerous Malaysians have debt repayment up to 90pc of their take home pay! This a social/political time bomb waiting to explode. Do the politicians care? I don’t see many!
Basic life necessities: Malaysia is blessed with tremendous amount of resources and wealth.
Bad policies, greedy politicians and poor administration have deprived many poor Malaysian, especially those in the rural areas, the most basic life necessities like water and electricity. Some politicians have been their YBs for 30 or more years, yet they are still without water and electricity today! A good politician would have fought hard to remedy this ridiculous situation.
Shoddy Federal Ministers: They can be identified with their pontificating like “this should be done” and ‘that should have been done’ on matters under their jurisdiction! The latest such statement came from the Federal Minister of Transport when he said there should have been stronger enforcement in relation to the drowning of some Chinese tourists in Sabah.
A good minister should have prevented such incidents in the first place and should have taken remedial measures immediately after the incident. Talking is cheap. Without strong leadership and follow up actions, normal “tida apa” will reign all the time. Only serious mishaps like the one in Sabah can rock this type of Minister to wake up.
Breaking News 17th February 2017: “I am pleased to announce that the government is currently reviewing the cabotage policy for further liberalisation mechanisms to ensure affordable cost of goods and services in the state,” he added.
Liow said this in his speech at the Sabah Port Forum. “Review ad nauseam!” This is one of the typical epitomes of useless, meaningless political statement from this Federal Minister. Does he know that Sabahans have suffered the ‘cabotage policy yoke’ for more than 30 years? He has said the government is currently reviewing this policy.
Need I remind him that he has said this to us before and nothing has happened? He must think all Sabahans are brain dead! We have also heard this many times from successive federal ministers of transport.
If he is sincere, just do it. Sabahans are just too fed-up to stomach empty promises and platitudes from him.
He should decide whose side he is on – the ship owners or Sabahans?
In the final analysis, we get what we voted for. Malaysians must wake up, speak up and don’t vote for useless, greedy, ineffectual as incompetent politicians irrespective from government or opposition in the next GE.
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