BN fails to kill with a borrowed knife

The BN government has lost a golden opportunity to finish off Pakatan in the battle of the budgets.

COMMENT

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) strategists for the 2012 Budget presented on Oct 7 really got it wrong this time.

While there were gifts and goodies galore for civil servants, and pensioners as well, the private sector’s low wage-earners and its retirees were neglected.

Pertaining to the private sector’s low-income group, the minimum wage figure was the bone of contention. The sector’s low-wage earners were anxiously waiting for this figure to be announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Pakatan Rakyat was the first to fix the floor wage at RM1,100 in the Pakatan budget unveiled on Oct 4.

If Najib had set the figure as RM1,200, Pakatan would have been blown out of orbit because there would have been a great swing of support from Pakatan to BN. Instead, BN budget strategists, for whatever reasons best known to themselves, chose to ignore the private sector low-wage earners. The minimum wage figure is a much-needed benchmark upon which wages will be decided but BN has chosen to ignore this fact at its own peril.

Therefore, BN has certainly lost a golden opportunity to gain support from the private sector employees, especially those who work in blue-collar jobs in factories or those lower-ranked office staff such as general or admininistration clerks. See, all it takes is just RM100 to blow Pakatan away!

The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called “Killing with a Borrowed Knife” or “Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife”.

If BN chooses to announce the minimum wage figure now, the impact will be lost and the public will know that BN is insincere or worst still, it is an election gimmick to garner votes from the low- income group. This terrrible blunder represents a great failure by the BN federal government to improve the earnings of Malaysian citizens. And it just goes to show that it is the government which is depressing the wage market and this means that all this talk by the government about improving workers’ rights is merely hot air.

Concerning the private sector retirees, theirs is a case of double tragedy. They, too, should have been entitled to the bonus payout of RM1,000 (RM500 paid out in August this year before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and RM500 to be paid this coming December). This is because in their heyday, they too have worked hard, paid their taxes and contributed to the development and progress of the nation. It is a travesty of justice that they have been so poorly neglected time and time again by the BN government.

As for those old-timers, aged 70 and above, their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings would have most probably run out as the salary was small in those days. Thus, in this present day and age, their savings would have shrunk tremendously due to inflation and they would have no choice but to rely on their children to provide for them. That is all well and fine if their children are earning well but what if their children fail to make it in life? And what about those who are single?

1Malaysia slogan empty rhetoric

The government’s generosity towards the civil servants and pensioners has irked the low-wage earners who are clamouring for fair treatment to be meted out to them, too. It is extremely amazing that the government deems it fit to ignore the pleas for minimum wage from the low-income group in the private sector. This clearly shows that without a doubt the 1Malaysia slogan of “People First, Performance Now” is empty rhetoric to dupe the public. Ditto for the much-hyped up slogan of “BN is a caring government”. Caring indeed but perhaps caring only for its own stranglehold of power in Putrajaya?

The one-sided move by the government of caring only for the civil service is a double standard and is a clear attempt to gain support ahead of the impending general election.

Where governments all over the world are responsibly implementing cutbacks and austerity measures sparking mass demonstrations among their own citizens, Malaysia, in contrast, is spending like there is no tomorrow.

The government is not even mindful of the fact that the global economic downturn is projected to get worse in 2012. Although Malaysia’s national debt stands at 53 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), we are speeding to the bankrupt benchmark of 62 percent of the GDP if the federal government does not take serious steps to rein in wasteful expenditure involving mega-projects which benefit only a chosen few.

Wastages have to be stopped, leakages have to be plugged and corruption has to be curbed but the federal budget has failed to mention anything on these issues and the solutions for them. The government’s deathly silence only serves to reinforce the fact that it is clueless on combating corruption and how to be thrifty.

Therefore, the pertinent question to ask now is this: will Malaysia be a Greek tragedy in a few years from today?

Selena Tay is a Pakatan supporter, DAP member and FMT columnist.