The 'Oracle of Syed Putra' has spoken and we must accept it as God sent mantra of truth. I am not too sure if the rest of us are referring to the same person/persona as Dap poster boy, Ariff Sabri. According to Ariff, who blogs as Sakmongkol AK47, the Oracle said Barisan in trouble and Najib has lost the plot in managing the country.
But Daim isn't saying the same thing to a host of mass media who interviewed him. He regarded MCA President Chua Soi Lek as a leader who has bravely spoken up for the interest of the community. I am unsure what Chua has spoken up for me but I have not heard him telling the government to treat all its citizens fairly and stop the distinction between Bumi-and-Non-Bumi. It is really a silly political game which aims at divide-and-rule the people.
If you are Chinese and you are poor. You are still poor. No point harping about how the NEP had helped to enriched people like Vincent Tan, Francis Yeoh, Robert Kuok or the late Lim Goh Tong. The only similarity the rich Chinese tycoons have with poor Chinese coolies is the ethnicity. What is theirs is theirs and whatever my woes are remain mine alone. They are not obliged to share their wealth with the poor Chinese. So, should we rejoice a few billionaires and disregard millions of poor?
What did Chua speak up for me? Chua was brave enough to tell us that MCA is not going to join the government if the party performs worse than 2008. He told us a vote for Dap is a vote of Pas and we should be very afraid of Pas' Islamic ambition to implement Hudud.
Did Chua even understand what troubled the Chinese community? What is his party stand on various issues such as political thuggery, Lynas rare earth processing plant, corruption, NEP which breeds cronyism and nepotism (cases of ministers' families being given lucrative government contracts) and others?
Did Chua speak up against the political arrogance of Umno and its association and tacit support for right wing and racist organizations such as Perkasa?
The Oracle should know one very important fact. It is difficult for MCA and Chua to sell Umno to the Chinese voters. Chua must prove that he has the political will and courage to stand up against what's wrong in Umno and the latter excesses in the government. Chua cannot use fear (of Hudud and Pas) to try to lure back Chinese support to his party.
It is good to be brave but it is more important to be righteous.
Now Daim is saying that we will have a better future under Najib's economic model. Which model? NEP or NEM? ETP, GPP, 1(Everything), KRA and whatelse?
Daim says Malaysia has the base to become a great economy because it has the workforce, resources and infrastructure as well as flexible institutions and policies to generate high economic growth. Which country does not have the workforce, resources and infrastructure?
What Daim did not elaborate on Malaysia's continuous dependence of cheap foreign labour and unskilled workforce. SMI associations are arguing that the implementation of RM900-1000 minimum wage may cause 80% of them to close down. If local workforce are going to earn such inhumane level of salary, these SMIs might as well close shop.
Logically, this helps to explain why Malaysia's brightest and skilled are not working in the country when they can obtain 3-4 times the pay outside the country. Malaysia has long been an employer market since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Entry level salary has remained stagnant for the past one and half decade.
We should not blame the government solely for the minimum wage issue. The implementation of minimum wage requires the support and collaboration of all including employers and employees. I agree that higher wages must be compensated with higher productivity and better work attitude. The solution to rectify Malaysia middle income trap crisis is not as easy as merely the implementation of minimum wage if all parties are not willing to address more pertinent and serious challenges together.
Does Najib economic model spells out the solution? Even Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan coalition does not have a solution to the problem apart from promising to implement minimum wage of RM1200 if they win Putrajaya, a move which may isolate the employers and business owners.
Ironically the Oracle did not address the issue of wastage when he spoke about resources. Our oil reserve is dwindling and drying up. Petronas has warned of depleting revenue moving closer to year 2017. Almost half of government's budget is dependent on oil and oil related revenues. Did we use our finite resources wisely?
Is the Oracle predicting a stop to wastage, corruption and misuse of resources? Why are public infrastructure projects are still being awarded to companies (or cronies) at exorbitant price?
I would like to say that the Oracle of Syed Putra is still a political and not a 'medicine man' or 'political bomoh' that Sakmongkol/Ariff claimed he was.
Nonetheless, Ariff should still continue to humour us with his 'Oracle of Syed Putra' series. They are well written and entertaining. I am sure a lot of opposition supporters and his own colleagues in Dap needed some motivation reading the gloomy prognosis doled out by the Oracle on Najib's BN chances in the next GE. On the flip side, I am sure MCA leaders and supporters are very happy and relieved reading the Oracle singing praises of their daring leader.
Welcome to Malaysia's political talk! Sensational but at times senseless.
But Daim isn't saying the same thing to a host of mass media who interviewed him. He regarded MCA President Chua Soi Lek as a leader who has bravely spoken up for the interest of the community. I am unsure what Chua has spoken up for me but I have not heard him telling the government to treat all its citizens fairly and stop the distinction between Bumi-and-Non-Bumi. It is really a silly political game which aims at divide-and-rule the people.
If you are Chinese and you are poor. You are still poor. No point harping about how the NEP had helped to enriched people like Vincent Tan, Francis Yeoh, Robert Kuok or the late Lim Goh Tong. The only similarity the rich Chinese tycoons have with poor Chinese coolies is the ethnicity. What is theirs is theirs and whatever my woes are remain mine alone. They are not obliged to share their wealth with the poor Chinese. So, should we rejoice a few billionaires and disregard millions of poor?
What did Chua speak up for me? Chua was brave enough to tell us that MCA is not going to join the government if the party performs worse than 2008. He told us a vote for Dap is a vote of Pas and we should be very afraid of Pas' Islamic ambition to implement Hudud.
Did Chua even understand what troubled the Chinese community? What is his party stand on various issues such as political thuggery, Lynas rare earth processing plant, corruption, NEP which breeds cronyism and nepotism (cases of ministers' families being given lucrative government contracts) and others?
Did Chua speak up against the political arrogance of Umno and its association and tacit support for right wing and racist organizations such as Perkasa?
The Oracle should know one very important fact. It is difficult for MCA and Chua to sell Umno to the Chinese voters. Chua must prove that he has the political will and courage to stand up against what's wrong in Umno and the latter excesses in the government. Chua cannot use fear (of Hudud and Pas) to try to lure back Chinese support to his party.
It is good to be brave but it is more important to be righteous.
Now Daim is saying that we will have a better future under Najib's economic model. Which model? NEP or NEM? ETP, GPP, 1(Everything), KRA and whatelse?
Daim says Malaysia has the base to become a great economy because it has the workforce, resources and infrastructure as well as flexible institutions and policies to generate high economic growth. Which country does not have the workforce, resources and infrastructure?
What Daim did not elaborate on Malaysia's continuous dependence of cheap foreign labour and unskilled workforce. SMI associations are arguing that the implementation of RM900-1000 minimum wage may cause 80% of them to close down. If local workforce are going to earn such inhumane level of salary, these SMIs might as well close shop.
Logically, this helps to explain why Malaysia's brightest and skilled are not working in the country when they can obtain 3-4 times the pay outside the country. Malaysia has long been an employer market since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Entry level salary has remained stagnant for the past one and half decade.
We should not blame the government solely for the minimum wage issue. The implementation of minimum wage requires the support and collaboration of all including employers and employees. I agree that higher wages must be compensated with higher productivity and better work attitude. The solution to rectify Malaysia middle income trap crisis is not as easy as merely the implementation of minimum wage if all parties are not willing to address more pertinent and serious challenges together.
Does Najib economic model spells out the solution? Even Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan coalition does not have a solution to the problem apart from promising to implement minimum wage of RM1200 if they win Putrajaya, a move which may isolate the employers and business owners.
Ironically the Oracle did not address the issue of wastage when he spoke about resources. Our oil reserve is dwindling and drying up. Petronas has warned of depleting revenue moving closer to year 2017. Almost half of government's budget is dependent on oil and oil related revenues. Did we use our finite resources wisely?
Is the Oracle predicting a stop to wastage, corruption and misuse of resources? Why are public infrastructure projects are still being awarded to companies (or cronies) at exorbitant price?
I would like to say that the Oracle of Syed Putra is still a political and not a 'medicine man' or 'political bomoh' that Sakmongkol/Ariff claimed he was.
Nonetheless, Ariff should still continue to humour us with his 'Oracle of Syed Putra' series. They are well written and entertaining. I am sure a lot of opposition supporters and his own colleagues in Dap needed some motivation reading the gloomy prognosis doled out by the Oracle on Najib's BN chances in the next GE. On the flip side, I am sure MCA leaders and supporters are very happy and relieved reading the Oracle singing praises of their daring leader.
Welcome to Malaysia's political talk! Sensational but at times senseless.
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