by P Dinesh
Hunting around for an apt description for Najib’s budget, we
finally had to settle on ‘mindless’. No one in the entire overstaffed
Finance Ministry, or their inept leader, appears to have bothered to apply
their mind to the serious challenges facing the nation. Outrageously, Najib has
themed his budget as one for national transformation when it is anything but.
The issues unaddressed include:
Jobs
·
How will this budget help to create new jobs?
·
How many jobs will it create?
·
Will these jobs be in high wage sectors?
·
Will any jobs that are created only be for foreign nationals?
New Industries
·
What new industries will the government encourage in
Malaysia?
·
What kind of incentives will be offered for these industries?
The Environment
·
What initiatives (supported by what budgets) will the
government undertake to protect the environment?
·
What investments will the government make into promoting
green technologies and their related industries?
The Poor
The poor need higher income jobs and reskilling, not a
one-off, arbitrary hand-out. It is unfortunate that the government treats the
poor as a collection of beggars. We are back to being a medieval kingdom and
Najib goes around tossing coins to the masses. Scrabble, guys!
·
What plans has the government to increase the earning power
of households with incomes below RM3,000?
Rising Prices
Prices of all food and goods are rising every day. And it is
rising more than the government says it is. This more than anything contributes
to the hardship of all citizens. It is going to get worse, as the government
plans only to maintain, not increase, the subsidies.
·
What plan does the government have to combat rising prices?
·
How does the government plan to reduce the price of food and
basic necessities?
The Disabled
No concrete measures have been put in place to help the
disabled. The government appears to have neither objectives nor interest in
helping the disabled. We suggest policies like 100% employment for all the
disabled who can work. There are enough GLCs to accommodate them.
The
Civil Service
Civil servants were thrown scraps, a half-month salary, in
return for their efforts. The government, being a poor economic manager, is
unable to award them a better bonus. What monies were not wasted on mismanagement,
were lost to corruption.
In the end, the biggest losers were the people of Malaysia.
Whatever small short-term gains some may think they receive, they will find it
turning to ashes in their mouth. Literally. For example by the time the poor
receive their promised RM500, they will find its purchasing power greatly
reduced due to rampant inflation.
What is clear from this budget is that the BN government is
lost and it is desperate. They have absolutely no clue on how to tackle the
economic ills afflicting the nation. They are reduced to self-destructive
populism in a last-ditch bid to survive.
Najib may be a short-term thinker who does not look beyond
ensuring his own survival in the next election; but Malaysians should look at
the long-term damage that the BN will wreak on Malaysia’s economy if they are
allowed to stay on.
Source : MC
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