Cutting out corruption is not the only cure for Malaysia’s problems, Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala said. “This is because subsidies alone cost RM40 billion — far more than the possible RM8 billion that could be saved from combating corruption.”
He made the statement, while addressing to claims made by politicians from federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that corruption was one of the biggest problems facing Malaysia.
RM8billion a measly sum?
Maybe, RM8 billion may not sound like a lot to Idris Jala, if compared to the RM40 billion worth of subsidies, but this amount can be used to build around 320 thousand low cost homes for the poor, priced at around RM25 thousand per home. Overnight, we would have solved the poverty and the homeless afflicting the country.
If this amount is given out as business loans, it will develop a very big pool of entrepreneurs that will instantly inflate the country’s economy. But no, this RM8 billion goes missing every year due to lack of enforcement against Corruption.
If corruption can be nipped in the bud, the RM8billion saved could reduce the subsidies to only RM32 billion that will benefit 30million Malaysians in this country.
And sadly, it is this RM8billion that politicians are tripping head over heels and over each other, selling their souls in the process to take a cut. This amount is also the singular cause of all the country’s ills today.
They think that being an assemblyman today, is a license to make money and many are so obsessed with this passion, they have thrown caution to the wind, dropping every ounce of dignity left in them, and abandoning the people to wallow in poverty and self pity.
If corruption is not nipped in the bud, 8000 politicians and their cronies stands to become instant millionaires every year.
Combating corruption is just lip service
Every Prime Minister since Tun Mahathir has vowed to stem out corruption but to no avail. There is simply not enough evidence to nail the culprits with some of them amassing obscene wealth to the tune of billions. Nowadays, Millions of Ringgit from corruption is considered chicken feed, without anyone batting an eye.
Does Corruption Agencies like MACC, have any concrete solutions to stem corruption and graft afflicting the country today? Everyone doubts so, as corruption is being committed so openly without any fear.
Even the Armed Forces or more precisely ESSCOMM is alleged to be on the take, affecting the security of Sabah State. The Cowgate scandals like many others are at a stalemate, while the 12billion PKFZ still stinks to the high heavens.
Little or no attempts are made to recover the billions that have gone missing and neither is there a political will to get a conviction.
Corruption is still as rampant as ever
Recently, PKR's Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli unearthed another bombshell; that Putrajaya is paying five times more to build six Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campuses by privatising the construction work.
"This means the concession system used by BN to build the campuses is a continuation of the privatisation system which gives huge profit to crony companies and becomes a burden to the people, while taxpayers have to shoulder cost of nearly five times more," he said.
He also questioned Putrajaya’s intentions of allegedly awarding a RM100 million grant to a firm that is already on the road to profit as the grant comes on the back of taxpayers.
Rafizi added that the company was also set to make an operational profit of RM27 million and RM31 million for the same period respectively, and it did not need to pay back the grant.
Meanwhile, Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen raised concerns on amendments to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Act Amendments Bill to be tabled next week that would grant the finance minister unprecedented power over taxpayers' money.
“With no transparency and accountability provisions present in the bill, billions of Ringgit would be at risk as it could just turn into another opaque off-budget fund similar to 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that is beyond the scrutiny of Parliament,” He warned.
Wong Chen, MP for Kelana Jaya
The Country is going bankrupt
With the country nearly RM800billion in debt, and without concrete steps taken to reverse the downslide, it won’t be long before we become another Greece.
Is the BN government taking any action to reduce this humongous debt? Will there be a reduction and how much will it be, say five years from today? Or would the debt balloon out of control to intolerable levels?
And adding insult to injury, BN is asking for an extra RM4 billion, on top of the current budget.
Can Malaysia afford to be such a spendthrift or should the country start applying emergency brakes and make an effort to cap the outflow permanently?
The daily tirade by BN politicians trying in vain to explain away the gross mismanagement blunders is not going to solve the problem. It is a real wonder how our politicians manage to stupidly squander away so many billions without batting an eyelid. But yet these politicians think that they are smart enough to run this country and outwit its citizens.
Time to make the people pay
With the Government running short of funds and the need to halt the mounting deficit, it is turning its eyes on the people again. Why not, let the people pay for it instead? Reduce Subsidies, implement GST and hike up petrol prices again will be an instant remedy!
Sacrifices have to be made, even if it is a big blow to citizens who are already plagued by the high cost of living. The domestic debt is already at an all time high and the reduction of subsidies and rising petrol prices would overwhelm consumers.
The land of milk and honey
How did Malaysia, a country so blessed with an abundance of natural resources, like oil and gas, rubber, oil palm, minerals and manufacturing hubs managed to entrap ourselves into such a corner?
Our Southern neighbour Singapore is just a small rock, barren of resources with a population of 4 million, but it still managed to outrun us by miles, and became one of the richest nations on earth.
Thailand, our northern neighbour although wrecked by political infighting has overtaken us economically. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are not far behind and one day, if we are not careful, we will find ourselves at the bottom rung of the Asian ladder.
Nearly RM1 trillion has been illegally siphoned out of the country to safe havens abroad. Putting two and two together, the RM1 trillion and the RM800billion deficit, Malaysia could easily overtake Singapore and Japan someday, if our financial resources were well managed. Who is our Finance Minister again?
Doomsday in 2019?
With the country facing such a mass deficit, should we even go ahead with the RM50 billion MRT project or the RM3.4 billion inflated KIDEX? The BN government has already lined up a new list of projects in the pipeline that may cause havoc to our countries’ critical finances.
Already, the government is eyeing hawkishly at the IRB and the EPF. If the downslide continues, we will go bankrupt. Already, Malaysia today, is the 2nd most exposed nation in Asia and to European banks, making it vulnerable to any economic collapse there.
With Malaysia Airlines facing bankruptcy, Proton barely afloat, Cadbury trying to regain its market share, and 1MDB struggling under the burden of RM35.5bil in borrowed money, coupled with the mismanagement of our country’s financial resources, it is a formula for disaster. How are we going to weather another global economic slowdown?
Should the country collapse under its weight of mounting debts; there are serious doubts that we will ever recover and be forced to open our doors to foreign interference. Then all the talk of becoming a developed Islamic nation or a full democracy would just go out the door and be a faint cry, lost in the howling winds.
An expected devaluation in the Ringgit will cause runaway inflation, Petrol increasing to 3times its price, property prices plummeting and the economy grinding to a halt.
Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain thought they were invincible, but still their economies collapsed like a pack of cards.
By this time, BN will probably hand over power to the Opposition on a silver platter and wish us good luck.
And wasn’t it that Idris Jala character who said; that if drastic measures are not taken to cut subsidies and rein in our debt, we are likely to go bankrupt by 2019? - MAILBAG
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