NAJIB & ROSMAH WILL BEG & KOWTOW BUT CHINA WON’T BE SO STUPID TO BAIL THEM OUT: DR M CAMP WARNS OF ‘SYSTEMIC ECONOMIC FAILURE’ AHEAD

COULD we be facing a systemic economic failure of a more dreadful magnitude than the 1997/98 crisis?

The telltale signs are many. But whereas the 1997/98 crisis was brought about largely by an external factor, that is the Asian Financial crises, the current meltdown could be domestic.

Granted that the whole world is facing economic slowdown due to the fall in commodity prices, especially petroleum, our predicament is two-prong.

We suffer the effects of falling commodity prices but more dangerously we are also facing a serious trust deficit due to the poor leadership and corruption of the ruling party – the Barisan Nasional.

When we were once the darling of foreign direct investors, we are today lagging far behind the regional countries. Even the powerhouse China, which is being so desperately coaxed and favoured by Putrajaya, is not favouring us as a manufacturing site.
A recent survey by the Standard Chartered Banking Group published by the Edge Financial Daily says that while Asean remains the preferred destination for China manufacturers looking to relocate their production facilities, Malaysia is, however, not their popular choice.

The report notes that the growing intention to move out of the mainland reflects the rapid rise in wages in the inland China cities.

Among those opting to move capacity overseas, Cambodia and Vietnam are the most favoured destinations. Up to 25 per of the respondents favour the two countries while just about two percent favour Malaysia.

China companies do not favour Malaysia

Of course of “loyar buruk” ministers and their dedak eating mouthpieces would argue that we are way too advanced for cheap China manufactures. Sadly we are also losing the interest of high end manufacturers from Japan, the US and Europe. They are leaving our country after decades of fruitful presence.

The trust deficit in our scandal-ridden government, especially in the Prime Minister, (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, is so bad that almost all confidence indicators are down.

By the way, the longish tiresome title preceding Najib’s name is the Bugis warrior title awarded to him in 2005 by the remnants of the long defunct Gowa Bugis Empire in Sulawesi in honour of his Bugis hereditary.

Although the exchange rate of the ringgit is on the mend – after falling to almost RM4.50 to a dollar in September 2015 – it remains the weakest currency among Asean countries. Its 90-day historical rates to June 21 ranged between RM4.24 and RM4.43 to a dollar.

Even the inflow of short term capital into Bursa Malaysia remains tentative – amounting to RM4.7 billion until end of March this year. This is pale in comparison to the whopping outflow of RM19.5 billion in 2015.

All Is Not Well…

On the socio-welfare front, we are also heading towards a meltdown. The bad news keeps piling up. The RM20-per kilogram ikan kembung (Indian Mackerel) is now a norm. The weak ringgit and the GST are beating the consumers to pulp.

Even the much touted increase in retail sales is contributed largely by the higher prices consumers have to pay due to the falling ringgit and the GST. In real term they take home much less goods.

More recently it was reported that as many as 500 clinics run by general practitioners (GPs) had been closed between 2014 and 2016 due to poor business.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) President, Dr Ravindran R. Naidu, said a study involving 1,800 GPs revealed widespread concern over the financial sustainability of their clinics.

The findings showed almost 70% of clinics saw fewer than 30 patients a day, while the operating cost of a clinic in an urban area ranges from RM50,000 to RM60,000 a month. He is worried that the situation may worsen.

It already is getting worse. A doctor nephew of mine, who works at a government hospital in Selangor, told me a month ago that more and more patients, who hitherto, visited private clinics are now flocking the already clogged government hospitals and health centres.

Public hospitals are getting more crowded

He and his colleagues are overworked and they are seeing less and less patients when they do the locum at private clinics to supplement their moderate government income.

This is bad news all around because budget allocations for health and other welfare services, including the all critical education, have been drastically reduced. A case of double whammy for the public social services – getting less money but having to cater to a larger number of clients.

Even middle and upper level private sector retirees are abandoning the private medical services in favour of the cheaper government and semi-government medical centres like University Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) and the National Heart Institute (IJN). The queues are getting longer at these facilities.

Sadly, while the rakyat’s hardship keeps mounting and the country’s reputation is going down the chute, the BN ruling elite continues with their shenanigans.

In the most recent case, a minister’s newly acquired spouse is accused of inappropriately using the standard issue government calling cards to publicise herself as quasi-Tourism Malaysia representative in Paris.

A New Official Title?  Spouse-Minister

Her husband’s response to the social media bombardment was meek at best. He said he did not give her the permission but added that not all officers listen to him.

Of course this is pale in comparison to the alleged gift of a US$27-million pink diamond locket by 1MDB point man Jho Low, to Najib’s wife, (Datin Paduka Seri Puan Puti Reno) Rosmah Mansor. The Puan Puti Reno bit is her top-notch Minangkabau royal award.

What we are witnessing today is symptomatic of a rudderless leaderless government. It’s sad but it’s also true.

– http://kadirjasin.blogspot.my