'BN' really means "Bankrupt Nation"

KUALA LUMPUR - The writing is already on the wall and easily evident in daily life in Malaysia with every progressing day that the economy is beginning to spew and sputter and it should really be a matter of time before it begins to stall and go in a downward spiral.

What Malaysians suspected and feared all along prior to the 13th GE became a stark reality when Fitch Rating’s revision of the country’s outlook was downgraded from “stable” to “negative” in late July 2013 that gave the clearest indication that international investors have run out of patience.

In response to Fitch’s downgrading, a visibly shaken Najib Tun Razak said early this month that the forthcoming Budget 2014 on Oct 25 will contain strategies to reduce Malaysia’s fiscal deficit which currently stands at 53.9 per cent of GDP as at the First Quarter of this year.

This is just a fraction below the 55 per cent level that is deemed prudent compared with 39.8 per cent just five years ago or in 2008. As a result, Najib has announced the setting up of a fiscal policy committee in a move to cut Malaysia’s budget deficit to 3 per cent by 2015 for which the prime minister’s advisers want details worked out in the coming months.

But analysts contend that Malaysia’s mounting debt burden is worrisome and difficult to reduce owing to much off-balance sheet nonsense and bad procurement practices by the government as often highlighted in the Auditor-General’s report.

A burgeoning debt burden

In all levels of the strata of Malaysian society from households to corporates, the state and federal government, there is to be found and discovered much debt and the figures are escalating as spending is more than earnings due to the easy availability of credit and a great lack of financial discipline.

But at the end of the day what happens is that debt has to be repaid, one way or another, and the higher the amount of your monthly pay cheque goes towards servicing debt, the less money people will have remaining to spend and save for the future.

This is what that has led to the government introducing pump priming measures as a large number of households are finding it difficult to deal with the rising cost of living forcing the government to continue with its multi-billion ringgit subsidies and other handouts thus causing the debt of the federal government to soar even higher.

In reality, it really is a vicious cycle. But the actual reason for this debt phenomenon is due to the fact that the BN government’s corrupt ways in the mismanagement of public funds and projects have created a ripple effect of creating waves of debt to rise.

This certainly doesn’t augur well for the future of the nation. What is envisaged is an impending collapse of the financial system that will cause Malaysia to regress and degrade the Quality-of-Life unless serious bids and measures are made to eradicate corruption, mismanagement of funds and projects and the use of austerity drives.

These are measures the BN government are loathe to use as it goes against the grain of their governance and will cause much hurt and suffering among the people whom the government envisages will cause them to lose further the popular vote.

The debt crisis is set to deepen

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out simple math. For example Agensi Kaunselling Dan Pengurusan Kredit’s (AKPK) records show that the number of cases of financially distressed individuals is on the rise lending credence to the fact of the mounting debt burden Malaysians bear.

Household debt has been on the rise at a worrying pace since 2009. Since that year it was 70 per cent of GDP. But four years later it has risen to 83 per cent. According to Bank Negara Malaysia, household debt grew at an average annual rate of 12 per cent over the last five years.

This has led to bankruptcy cases to go on the rise. In 2012, the number of insolvency cases rose 2.1 per cent to 19,575. The 2012 annual report by the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department highlights that the majority of bankruptcy cases were due to car and home purchases at 27 per cent each while 17 per cent were due to personal loans.

While AKPK contends that the younger generation is getting wiser in avoiding the pitfall of falling into debt, the numbers that are already bankrupt are a real cause of worry and concern and have already caused great misery for Malaysians.

What about the future?

With all that has been stated, it is really a matter of time the BN initials becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of “Bankrupt Nation.” Malaysians should go on guard and be vigilant of any attempt at trying to hoodwink them of their hard earned wages.

The reason for Malaysia’s mounting debt burden is due to the inept and corrupt governance of BN. While BN hopes to be able to turn around the situation such a possibility is difficult to realize as the nation has gone too deeply into debt.

The only cause of hope is to dismantle and remove the BN government through the use of a snap poll and for this the people of Malaysia must become wiser and learn to opt for the opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat to save the nation from chaos and confusion.

There is really no other way. The mounting debts of people has caused the rise in crime and made Malaysia an unsafe nation where there now exists a law and order situation. The only way to remedy the situation is to cause a change of government as the corrupt ways of BN has gone beyond control.

While BN contends that corruption is really a “perception” from which Malaysians suffer and that all is fine and dandy, the hard, harsh realities of everyday life now to which Malaysians are waking up to with much regret for electing BN to federal power is beginning to hurt and cause much suffering and pain all round.

This is not a time for BN to spew rhetoric and semantics on governance but really high time for Malaysians to rally around an alternative government that can heal the wounds of the nation and ease the great burden of debt that the people carry.

The sooner Malaysians oust the BN government the faster can the people sigh with relieve and be set free of the tyranny and oppression of BN leaders who have failed to play by the rules of democracy and have instead created the governing elite in this country to hold sway over the rakyat.

Malaysia’s debt burden is not going to go away like a bad dream and only the doses of reality which PR can give can overcome the foolhardy ploys of BN that has led the nation into a debt crisis and set to sink the nation further into despair.

Only a change of government can cause Malaysia to be saved from bedlam and anarchy now. If Malaysians do not pay heed to the warning signs they and their descendants will have to pay a heavy price to be stuck with BN.

Malaysia Chronicle