Malaysia will be bankrupt because…

For two decades, we listened to Dr Mahathir Mohamad because he was the prime minister and he gave his version of everything, from privatisation to NEP and crony capitalism.

But now we know better. Now we see the all the excesses seeping out and the double talk. His so-called economic policies depended on oil revenue, not any superb thinking.

The cheap labour model he gave us worked for a while but now Malaysia is stuck in the low income trap. His government officials accuse Malaysians of being dependent on subsidies but what they don’t tell us is that MITI and MIDA can’t sell the country as an investment destination without giving 10- to 15-year tax holidays, subsidised gas and cheap foreign labour.

This is Dr Mahathir’s legacy so we should be cynical when he warns that minimum wage may lead Malaysia to bankruptcy.

So what’s his option, import more Indonesians and Bangladeshis?

I dare say these are the things that will lead us to bankruptcy, and not minimum wage:

1) The culture of allowing those responsible for billions in losses to get away without having to pay any price for their wrongdoing or excesses.

The Lebanese chap behind the massive failure that is InventQjaya is enjoying his life while the government picked up RM1.2 billion tab; Tajudin Ramli does not have to pay RM800 billion (including interest) to Danaharta after a confidential settlement brokered by government.

2) GLCs losing tons of money despite government protection and bailouts. MAS just announced RM2.5 billion in losses and Dr Mahathir’s favourite toy, Proton, is in the red. Again.

3) The strange award of contracts such as the National Feedlot Corporation (RM250 million), the RM2.2 billion Kinrara Damansara Exchange (to an Umno lawyer and former chief justice) and the multibillion ringgit West Coast Highway (allegedly to a friend of Najib’s).

4) The bloated civil service. Malaysia has a workforce of 12 million and 1.2 million are civil servants, the highest proportion in the region. Every time the civil service is given a bonus, it costs the government some RM8 billion.

5) Corruption by politicians and their nominees.

6) Funds and projects approved for vote-buying in the run-up to elections.

Minimum wage will increase the cost of doing business but the paltry increase will not bankrupt Malaysia.

Business as usual, Umno-style, is already bankrupting Malaysia.

- Ali Kadir reads