From endless possibilities to endless headache

The government has deemed it fit to give us, the rakyat, a big headache by reducing subsidies, thereby causing the price of goods to go up.

COMMENT

There is now a big headache for many Malaysians.

The first group of people suffering from an endless headache is undoubtedly the police force who have to work very hard to nab criminals in order to curb crime.

What’s more they now have the additional duty of preventing Chin Peng’s ashes from being brought back to Malaysia. This means that the police will be kept extremely busy dealing not only with the living but with the dead as well.

Another group of people having a big headache is DAP and the one causing DAP’s headache is the MCA president, Dr Chua Soi Lek. In page 4 of a local English daily dated Sept 16, 2013 under the article bearing the title ‘MCA: Do not sideline any ethnic group’, Chua was reported as saying that “it would be politically more difficult for the Barisan Nasional to get support from the non-bumiputeras if government policies sidelined any particular group.”

He also said that “the matter would be exploited by the Opposition, particularly the DAP.”

All along, DAP has remained silent on this issue. If Chua is afraid to criticise the policy of the BN government, he should keep quiet. By roping in DAP, he can be termed as ‘launching an attack using another man’s strength’ as outlined in many ancient Chinese military treatises.

Not only is this a cowardly move by Chua, it is also unethical and unprofessional. His purpose of course is to prevent DAP from getting Malay support.

The third group of people suffering an endless headache is none other than the low-income group. How will they cope with the ever-rising cost of living?

Now that the price of RON95 petrol has gone up, they will have difficulty making ends meet as the price of food, fresh produce and transport will inevitably go up.

At the end of every month there will be the usual electricity, water and telephone bills to pay not to mention the periodic bills such as quit rent, assessment and sewerage.

As for those who have outstanding loans, monthly repayments need to be made. All in all, it is an endless headache for the low-wage earner.

The fourth group of people having a headache is the Education Ministry and the parents who cannot afford to send their children to study overseas.

Their headache is due to the drop in the university rankings as shown in the comparison between year 2012 and year 2013 in the QS World University Rankings:

1. University Malaya (UM): from 156 in year 2012 to 167 in year 2013;

2. University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM): from 261 in year 2012 to 269 in year 2013;

3. University Sains Malaysia (USM): from 326 in year 2012 to 355 in year 2013;

4. University Teknologi Malaysia: from 358 in year 2012 to 355 in year 2013 (the only one having an improvement);

5. University Putra Malaysia: from 360 in year 2012 to 411-420 in year 2013;

6. University Islam Antarabangsa: from 401-450 in year 2012 to 501-550 in year 2013; and

7. University Teknologi MARA: from 601+ in year 2012 to 701+ in year 2013

Something wrong

This deplorable drop in rankings with the exception of University Teknologi Malaysia is certainly a wake-up call to the ministry that something is seriously wrong with the education system.

One has to take note that the National University of Singapore (NUS) is on 24th place. Many may not know this but both UM and NUS shared the same starting point. UM started off in Singapore in 1949. In 1959, UM had two separate campuses, the original campus in Singapore and a new campus in KL. Then in 1962, these two campuses became two different universities with separate autonomy, that is UM in KL and NUS in Singapore.

But now 50 years later, NUS is in the top 30 while UM is not even in the top 100!

“One of the first steps to be taken to arrest this decline in rankings is to free the universities from political influence,” said PKR’s strategy director, Rafizi Ramli.

And finally, the endless headache faced by the fifth group of people is none other than the government. Due to wasteful spending, the national debt is soaring higher and higher.

Said PKR’s state assemblyman for Bandar in Terengganu, Azan Ismail, “Although the official figure of the national debt is RM502 billion and 53% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the unofficial figure could be as high as RM700 billion due to the government-guaranteed debts from the off-balance sheet accounting and the fall in the value of the ringgit thus ensuring that unofficially the percentage rise is more than 60% of the GDP”.

Now that the Malaysian government is having a big headache, they have deemed it fit to give us, the rakyat the big headache as well by reducing subsidies thereby causing the price of goods to go up.

The government urging the rakyat to be thrifty will not solve the national debt problem because this problem is due to the government’s mismanagement and has absolutely nothing to do with the citizens.

We the citizens do not appreciate this headache gift from the government. Thus it is revealed that endless possibilities has also yielded endless headache for many people.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT columnist.