O Ahmad, it is not about a second job, but...

Being out of touch with the rest of the groaning and moaning population, is!

Deputy International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Ahmad Maslan appears to be the one always missing the point, with his every attempt to put a new spin to his first statement.

Not surprisingly, he then blames others for misunderstanding his statement. So much for someone who is supposed to be Umno’s information chief.

I am surprised that - despite his hectic schedule in an important ministry as Miti - instead of trying to boost international trade and attract foreign investments, Ahmad has so much time still to cook out a different spin every other day and hog the headlines.

From the time that he said he has three jobs, to the moment he is saying we have to increase our personal incomes, Ahmad clearly shows that he is oblivious of the inflationary pressures faced by Malaysians in general.

Perhaps, this is the result of the luxuries which he now enjoys, earning nearly half a million per annum. This is what we learnt from reading articles about Ahmad’s income - a whooping RM40,000 per month - from the three different roles that he plays.

Very few people can boast of that kind of income. Some city folk that I know have to take on a second job, or work overtime, yet their total take-home pay is hardly RM40,000 in a year.

Put simply, most Malaysians yearn for quality time with their families. They want to be able to provide their family members with quality lifestyles, provided it is affordable and within their means.

The trouble now is that everyone has to make ends meet that any quality time with the family has to take a back seat. Most young Malaysians are in huge debts - with their car, housing and education loans.

This is why people, especially the younger generation of Malaysians, are fast losing confidence in the BN government, which - despite being in power for all these past 60 years - has done little to raise the incomes of the people.

Being rich in resources as a country, most of us still find ourselves in the middle-income trap, compared to Singapore; and the prices of our cars and houses have skyrocketed that most young people cannot afford to buy them.

What irks most of us is, when Ahmad continues to talk about having a second and third job despite already being pushed against the wall. He should not be comparing his income with those who are earning RM2,000 and having to supplement their income by teaching violin just to pay for their car loans.

Not another job, but higher incomes

If Ahmad cares enough to do a survey with his own constituents, I am sure he will get the same answer that I am saying here - provided he is honest with the feedback that he receives instead of attempting another spin.

Most people would prefer not to put in more hours into a second job or business in order to earn more money, if with the existing job, they can afford to live comfortably.

Therefore, for Ahmad to suggest that people should take on a second or third job is like rubbing salt into the wounds of people who prefer to give their quality time to their wives and children (and for some, their pets too).

What most people want is a higher income, not a second or a third job! After all, we only have 24 hours a day and a balanced lifestyle will ensure that we are a healthy nation.

The reason why people are becoming disillusioned under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration is that they see that - apart from trying to fix the 1MDB scandal and suing individuals - Najib has failed to drive the economy up.

Instead, with the inflation having risen so high, one can hardly survive with a hundred ringgit of groceries in one week.

Prices of goods and services have shot up since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the fall of the ringgit.

Recently, I was eyeing for an Apple computer which I had wanted to buy as early as in January last year, when it had cost only RM3,000; when I decided to shop for one this year however, the price has shot up to about RM4,000 plus.

What a big jump, and I decided that I could not afford the Apple. I had to give up the idea of ever buying the Apple laptop. For Ahmad, I guess it is because I do not have a second and third job, or even own an online business.

I can imagine more scenarios similar to this with the ringgit falling from RM3.50-RM4.50 to one US dollar. The things that you want to buy are now beyond your reach.

Ahmad is partly responsible for this as he contributes to the success and failure of Najib’s cabinet. Under Najib’s leadership, there appears to be no solution to deal with the country’s economic woes - except the pittance of RM500 given out as the so-called 1Malaysia People's Aid scheme or BR1M.

Merely a tongue-in-cheek statement

Having said what I needed to say, Ahmad should therefore stop jumping up and down when someone had misquoted him with this statement: “If you want to save wisely, the rakyat can eat rice with kicap. Don't blame the government for implementing GST and abolishing subsidies."

I am wondering how can Ahmad consider this as defamatory? Whatever it is, to me, the statement - whether made by Ahmad or someone else on his behalf - simply means that he, as a leader, appears to have lost touch with the people around him.

It is not necessary that Ahmad had to say this, but his attitude is enough to suggest what the statement intended to say about people’s frustrations with some ministers these days.

In the case of Marie Antoinette, the wife of French King Louis XVI, she might not have uttered these words herself, “Let the people eat cake” but attitude-wise, she was expressing the statement which had first appeared in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s autobiography, ‘Confessions’, which was written when Marie herself was only nine years old.

I believe most people who read my article would agree that some of our ministers and MBs are either out of touch with the people, or simply trying to rub salt into their wounds. I like the description given by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself, who put it succinctly: “Half-baked!”

Not surprising that this frustration can be traced to the time when Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, claimed she had started saving from young to have enough money to purchase an expensive diamond ring, which she later denied belonging to her.

Last year, two million ringgit was deposited into her personal account, yet no one has told us where it came from.

This is what makes us most frustrated, because the moment we fail to pay a single sen of tax, the Inland Revenue Board would definitely be coming down hard on us!

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. - mkini