Najib doesn't get it: Bankruptcy is due to failed businesses, corruption and expensive lifestyle

Prime Minister Najib Razak is off the mark when he was reported to have described an Opposition party (PAS) as promoting a welfare state (Negara Kebajikan). PAS in actual fact is emphasising on a benevolent state (Negara Berkebajikan) that gives priority to good governance and social justice - not the creation of a ‘welfare state’ as perceived by Najib.

A benevolent state is not a welfare state but a state that promotes the ‘growth of welfare’  and this will in turn bring about social justice to the people.  Bribing the people before elections on the pretext of giving aid cannot qualify a government to be benevolent. This is the one-off kind of charity work for long-term gain by political incumbents that will not impress voters.A benevolent state subscribes to the affordability of the citizens to lead a decent and affordable life.

Even Sri Lanka has not gone bankrupt

For instance, when citizens have to pay heavily for education and health care in government-owned institutions the state cannot claim itself to be a benevolent state. Many benevolent states  in the world – in Europe and Asia - offer free or affordable education from primary to tertiary level for all their citizens. There are many countries tin the world that also offer free or affordable health care by the government for the people. These are well-managed countries that take care of their citizens’ welfare.  These states  promote social justice and does not commercialize education or healthcare to generate money. Even  a poor country like Sri Lanka can offer free education for all its citizens. Yet it has not gone bankrupt.

Thousands of Malaysians students are stuck with the PPTPN loans. Many have not paid the loans and owe the government billions of ringgit. The government is dumb and until today cannot come up with a viable mechanism how to resolve this problem. Students do not have to scramble for loans to pay for their education and get into debt right from the day they step their feet into the university if education is made affordable to most parents. Parents are aware that even with the high costs for education in the country thy see no quality in it.

Umno-BN government has put our students in a very difficult position when they are forced to pay for university education. All this attribute to poor governance. Today billions of ringgit given out as loans to students cannot be paid back by them. A bulk of this money comes from loans taken by the government from EPF. EPF contributors are not happy with this move.

Why not make education free or affordable for all Malaysians studying in government-owned universities? And also ensure that all races are given the rights to pursue their education in these universities. If government-owned universitiesa re more meant for a single race than there is no social justice in a benevolent state. All races and people of all religion have to be given equal opportunities to have access to government-owned educational institutions.

Stop the gimmicks

The creation of a benevolent state emphasizing on social justice is the core element in Islam also shared by those professing other religions.  The welfare work such as handing RM500 to the poor or giving RM200 vouchers to students are just political gimmicks for the next general election. Beyond this, there is no soul to this practice. Such aid does not need direct Umno involvement it can be efficiently done by the welfare department created by the government in each state. This does not qualify the government to claim itself as practicing good governance or social justice. Giving RM500 to the poor and those in power misusing RM500 million of taxpayers’ money only show that there is no social justice in the country and thus it does not qualify to be called a benevolent state.

Najib is again off the mark here when he brands the Opposition as wanting to promote a ‘welfare state’ and claims that Umno is already practicing a ‘welfare state’. To prove this point, Umno went on to give a one-off payment of RM500 to the poor before an election by Umno does not justify that Umno is promoting its version of welfare state. This to many  is ‘bribery’ of sort.

Moreover, RM500 each is too little for the poor when there are ministers and their spouses living in luxury, spending millions on shopping sprees and having properties overseas. Giving a few ringgit handouts to please people before an election does not make Umno a party that champions the poor. The people does not need a government to do this. They will accept the money but it is a guarantee that they will vote for Umno or BN. After all they must have finished the money by now.

Corruption and spending sprees

Najib tends to believe that creating a benevolent state will make the country go bankrupt but how about  endemic corruption that has afflicted the country? The amount of money and wealth plundered and pillaged by those in power and closely connected to those in power is enough to make the 70 percent poor Malaysians uplift their standard of living. Trillions of taxpayers’ money and money from national resources are washed into the drains and a bulk of it taken out of the country for the past 54 years of Umno-BN poor governance.  Why not pro-Umno media impart this news to the rural people?

The country went through hundreds of failed businesses because of Umno-BN poor governance. The people have heard enough of the PKFZ RM12billion scandal, the submarine commission amounting to RM500million, Sime Darby debacle of RM964million, PosMalaysia RM230million loss, Eurocopter waste deal amounting to RM1billion. Billions more were lost in Terengganu Stadium when it collapsed, MRR2 repair costs, Torurism kiskbask, Matrade repairs, London’s Sports Complex, lost in selling Augusta, buying of submarines, Paya Indah Westland, Overpayment by Maybank, paintings for MAS, plane use by prime minister, compensation for botched crooked bridge, APs to cronies, PSC Naval dockyard, perwaja Stell loss, losses by Bank Islam, APCO …. and the list goes on. In fact the money lost in hundreds of business deals under UMNO-BN government flopped in the past. Cronyism, corruption and expensive lifestyle of leaders and their spouses have bled the nation profusely.

All the money wasted could have uplifted schools and universities where education is made affordable to all Malaysians. Make it affordable of citizens to seek medical care in government hospitals.  Ensure that the poor are housed. Giving a small token of reward to each to the poor will not make the country turn into a benevolent state. These are pittance when leaders are enjoying life living in luxury houses and driving luxury cars, overseas holidays, staying in posh hotels and going on shopping sprees.

When Imelda Marcos was asked by a reporter, how many pair of shoes she had, the reply was……

Peanuts for the poor and mega-deals for the rich

A benevolent state does not mean that it is a welfare institution to dish out people’s money before elections but a government that ensures the poor and the needy irrespective of race or religion are given the opportunity to live a decent life.

All benevolent states in the world with good governance have not faced any serious economic problems. Greece is collapsing not because of being a benevolent state but it is because of too much borrowing and too little productivity. This reminds of Malaysia which is about to face the same fate as  Greece. Almost all states in the world with leaders who are corrupt and their spouses who live a lavish lifestyle have experienced economic problems.

Every responsible government would strive to provide a social safety net to ensure that wealth is fairly distributed and this only occurs in states where the welfare of the people are their most concern but this is not the case with Malaysia. The rich are becoming richer and the poor poorer. Umno-BN however needs the poor for elections.

Giving out pittance to the poor and enriching those in power is not good governance.

Commitment to an Islamic state and also insisted the government had already introduced a welfare state.

The government has always struggled towards achieving a welfare state. Therefore I find it strange and peculiar that they want to establish a welfare state.

This is the model of the current government when it talks about a welfare state.

Plundering continues

Umno and Najib have failed to understand what a benevolent state is under an Islamic state. When PAS propose a benevolent state it gives emphasis on good governance and social justice – which is part of Islam and rejoiced by all other religions.

Najib’ “National Transformation Policy: Welfare for the Rakyat, Well-Being of the Nation” which included RM2.5 billion in cash handouts and a pay increase for the country’s 1.3 million civil servants worth RM2 billion.

He pointed out initiatives such as the RM1.4 billion handed out to the less fortunate under the 1 Malaysia Social Welfare Programme (KAR1SMA) and RM500 for each household earning less than RM3,000 a month under the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) as examples of Putrajaya’s social safety net.

The people are asking why only RM500 for each household. This to many poor families is not enough to even sustain their living expenses for two weeks. Is it more a gimmick than aid?

The unabated plundering would not ruin the nation’s coffer not when money is used to help the needy.

Safety net giving priority to wlefare

But we practise a social safety net and give priority to welfare. Then we can create a fair and just society that is balanced in sharing wealth. But how come some ministers are super rich. They can afford to live in multi-million ringgit bungalows, their families be given projects worth millions of ringgit, spend a fortune on shopping sprees, stay in posh hotels ?

And the rakyat find it impossible to make ends meet. What can  a one-off payment  of RM500 to the poor do to help the poor?

The poor rural people are not aware of all this abuse as the pro-UMNO media will spin to their master’s favour.

Corruption and cronyism are the main causes that lead to economic ruin not a benevolent state that emphasise on good governance.

The only way is to save the BN economy is to force the rakyat to provide give billions of welfare to his cronies. In Opposition states, it's the PR who serve the rakyat welfare. In BN state, it's the Rakyat who are forced to serve their cronies welfare! After 50 years, it's already ruin and there's no more money left to provide the people's basic welfare.

Malaysia Chronicle