ECONOMIC DISASTER NEXT if GST not deferred & floods emergency not declared - Guan Eng warns Najib

DAP urges the BN Federal government to declare a state of emergency over the national flood disaster in affected areas in Peninsular Malaysia. The Federal government is behaving irresponsibly and mala fide by relying on ridiculous, invalid and baseless excuses that declaring a state of emergency would adversely affect those insured, by preventing the hundreds of thousands of flood victims from filing for insurance claims. This is not true.

For a high water mark of 250,000 flood victims, the largest in Malaysian history evacuated from their homes, and financial losses of billions of ringgit certainly necessitate a state of emergency over the national floods disaster to expedite rescue, recovery and restoration works of damaged homes and infrastructure. There is no reason why a state of emergency can not be declared when a haze emergency was declared in parts of Malaysia on 2005 and 2013? Is haze a bigger threat than floods?

In the face of such natural disaster, the BN Federal government should also avoid an economic disaster for the 14.1 million labour force(as of October 2014) by deferring the imposition of the 6% GST on 1 April 2015, which will result inflation and worsen the average standards of living. For the 14.1 million labour workforce with 13.7 million employed and 378,000 unemployed, BN’s claims that the mean monthly gross household income has increased by an annual rate of 8.4% to RM5,919 in 2014 from RM5,000 in 2012 is an empty and meaningless announcement.

A more accurate measure is that the median income for the bottom 40% of households increased 11.2% to RM2,312 in 2014 from RM1,847 in 2012. For this reason, a deferment of the GST is important so as to reduce the financial burden of ordinary Malaysian families when even the data provided by the Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) reveal that about 80% of households in Malaysia are currently earning less than RM4,000 per month. The problem is that the rise in income has not caught up with rising costs of living resulting in Malaysia recording the second highest personal household debt in Asia of 87% of GDP.

In politics of government, winning is not about winning elections but about generating good and creative ideas that can capture the imagination for a brighter future. BN and UMNO is about appealing to our primordial fears and hate that dehumanises minorities to not only steal our children’s future but even permit the most barbarous villainies in future. Instead of aping BN’s primitive rule that rewards bad behaviour, we must focus on moderation, generate prosperity by stressing on excellence and competence and ensure socio-economic justice.

We need to be an innovative society leveraging on the conditions of 3Ts of Talent, Technology and Tolerance of new ideas based on ideals of freedom. We must remember that innovation depends less on developing specific ideas than it does on creating broad spaces. Autocracies can always mobilize their top 0.1% to accomplish excellence but what about the remaining 99.9%? Autocracies’ only answer is to administer dictate, oppress, repress and suppress the people.

For this reason, Malaysians can celebrate the new year in a more meaningful manner by fighting to preserve the freedoms in our Federal Constitution born of equal opportunity where you can be the best you want to be, rule of law, transparency and sustainable development that can give a better future to our children.

LIM GUAN ENG is Penang Chief Minister

民主行动党催促国阵联邦政府因应半岛大水灾，宣布全国进入紧急状态。联邦政府以“发布紧急命令会影响数十万受灾者向保险公司索赔”为由，拒绝跟进，无疑是不负责任及不诚实的，事缘上述理由不但荒谬，而且缺乏根基，乃不实的说法。

这场水灾已造成25万人受到影响，是马来西亚史上最多人被疏散的一次，经济损失更高达数十亿令吉，政府理应尽速宣布紧急状态，以便全力投入救灾行动，协助灾民修复家园以及一切受损的基设。 大马曾在2005年及2013年因烟霾入侵而宣布部份地区进入紧急状态，这次的水患冲击的层面更大，没有理由不发号紧急命令，难不成，烟霾比水患问题更大？

在面对天灾来袭之际，国阵联邦政府也应避免经济灾难接踵而来，而宣布展延征收消费税，将是一个良方，好让1410万劳动人口（2014年10月数据）喘息，免于担忧实施消费税后百物腾涨，生活水平提升。上述1410万劳动人口当中，1370万属于受雇族群，37万8千则属无业，国阵强调，我国的家庭月入已从2012年的5000令吉，以8.4%的年度成长至2014年的5919令吉，但这乃毫无意义的宣布。

精确一些来说，占据我国底层40%的家庭，其月入从2012年的1847令吉，以11.2%的成长率，提升至2014年的2312令吉。为了让这些家庭减轻负担，展延消费税是非常重要的。表现管理及传递单位所提供的数据也显示，国内80%家庭的月入低于4000令吉，问题就在于我们的薪资成长无法追上物价，造成了大马的家庭债务成为亚洲第二高，占据国内生产总额的87%。

对政府而言，政治不仅仅是在选战中胜出，而是生产出良好及具创意的想法，为国人带来更有想像空间的未来。国阵及巫统以憎恨及恐惧来治理，剥夺少数族群尊严，这宛如强行掠走孩子的未来，纵容坏人当道。与其让国阵放纵恶人的方式继续当道，我们更应该聚焦在中庸之道，专注在鼓励卓越及竞争、确保社会经济的正义，来缔造一个繁荣的景象。

一个创新型的社会，需要人才、工艺及包容一切想法的自由。而一个独裁政权，唯一能回应人民的，就是压制人民，即便它总是能鼓动其顶端的0.1%去追求卓越。但，其余的99.9%该如何是好？

有鉴于此，马来西亚人可以以更有意义的方式来欢庆新年，即捍卫宪法中阐明的自由，让每个人都有同等的机会成为最好的自己，推崇法治、透明及永续发展，以便让我们的孩子有个更好的未来。

林冠英