Clueless governance, cruel hikes

How is Malaysia to become a high-income nation if the cost of living keeps increasing at a faster pace than the increase of monthly salaries for the low-income group?

COMMENT

A local English daily dated Dec 21, 2013 reported Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as saying “the increase in toll rates and electricity tariff is very difficult for the government to implement but the consequences of not doing this will be ever more burdensome for the people.”

To this end, the government will be setting up a lab to study the impact of the price hikes and soaring cost of living on the lives of the citizens.

All the 20 city dwellers interviewed by this columnist said that the setting up of this said lab is a waste of time and money as a simple street survey can easily enable the government to obtain the necessary information pertaining to the impact on the people’s lifestyle if there is such a thing as lifestyle wherein the low-wage earner is concerned.

All the interviewees were also of the view that the government really cannot do anything much to alleviate the people’s burden on this matter.

The season pass mooted by Najib for regular toll road users will be a bit of help somewhat but the effects of the electricity hike will be difficult to mitigate as its chain effect will affect the prices of all goods.

One of the interviewees was even so bold as to suggest that the setting up of a lab is an eyewash by the government to hoodwink the public into thinking that the government has an idea of how to help the citizens when in fact the government is also groping in the dark.

Commenting on this lab matter, PAS Changkat Jering state assemblyman, Nizar Jamaluddin remarked that “the government is clueless as to how to help the rakyat deal with the rising cost of living and forming a panel to study this issue is just a waste of time and money when they can just easily do a street poll. This obviously shows that the BN Government is really at a loss and running out of ideas on how to ease the burden of the poor.”

Furthermore, the government always fails to think before acting.  Take for instance the price hike in RON95 petrol. The increase should only be 10sen, that is from RM1.90 to RM2 instead of 20sen. This will enable us to get 5 litres of petrol with every RM10 instead of the 4.76 litres now – a big difference indeed.

The next two years will be tough

GST too should start at 4% the most and remain at this level for at least five years. While price hikes are inevitable, the amount should not be too steep so that the low-income group will have some breathing space.

As for the assessment hike, due to the massive increase in property valuation, the percentage to be paid on the property valuation should should only be 3% at the most wherein residential properties are concerned although 2% is also fair and just.

All this simply points to the fact that 2014 and 2015 will certainly be tough years for the ordinary rakyat.  Subsidy reduction and the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) is certainly a quick one-two to deal a knockout blow to the low-income group.

Will increasing the BR1M payout be of help to this group? Yes, if there is a payout of RM650 every month. Otherwise, a payout at the beginning of every year is no big deal as it is a quick relief for one month only. It is like being ill the whole year but only seeing the doctor in one month out of the 12.

It is also difficult for Malaysia to become a high-income nation if the cost of living keeps increasing at a faster pace than the increase of the monthly salary for the low-income group. For low-income married couples with children, there are school-going expenses, monthly loans to be serviced and utility bills to be settled. Definitely the situation for many people is going to get more difficult.

More likely we will become a high-debt nation if the cost of living continues to escalate. The main solution to the problem is that the government must curb unnecessary spending and come out strongly against corruption and cronyism.

Then the implementation of GST will really help the nation to progress. If not, what is the use of collecting more taxes only for the taxpayers’ money to be frittered way through wastages, leakages and corrupt practices? We will only be back to square one.

Therefore civil society must now strongly voice out their displeasure at the government’s mismanagement of the nation’s economy. To put it bluntly, the whole economic management has gone haywire.

For the sake of this nation, the government must return to the path of good governance. This columnist is absolutely sure that all Malaysians will work together with the government to ensure that we will achieve developed nation status by 2020 but is the government willing to do its part by pulling its socks up to get itself on the right track?

The government must heed the voice of the rakyat. If they ignore the voice of civil society who acts as a vanguard of good governance, they do so at their own peril. Therefore the government must listen to the rakyat’s grouses and do the right thing promptly and accordingly.