Kalau bodoh, belajarlah !! Kalau tidak tahu, tanya.

This morning we were at the Bank and I was shocked to see not the headlines in Utusan Malaysia but the picture of Mazlan Aliman under the caption 'Felda Terus Gagal'.

When we defeated Moron and the Kleptocracy at the last General Elections in May 2018, Mazlan Aliman was our super star hero.  

Mazlan is the spokesperson for the Felda settlers' NGOs who had been long suffering under the Kleptocracy.  Our boys in Bersatu and Mazlan worked together - travelling to all the Felda settlements - to convince the voters to come over to the PH.  Mazlan Aliman helped the PH win in more than 19 Felda Parliamentary seats. 

Now (JUST LIKE ME) the very same Mazlan Aliman is turning his guns against the floundering and non performing Pakatan Harapan government. So I am not some "just fell out of the tree"  Lone Wolf  jungle sniper ok. 

Listen to what Mazlan Aliman has to say about the Pakatan Harapan and the troubles at Felda.

NGO Felda kecewa, hilang sabar 

setelah 10 bulan PH tidak membawa sebarang pemulihan Felda

sebaliknya bayaran pinjaman sara hidup diturunkan

Pengerusi NGO Felda Mazlan Aliman gesa Felda tarik balik pekeliling 

penurunan bayaran pinjaman sara hidup, bercanggah dengan manifesto PH

Mazlan kata penurunan pinjaman sara hidup adalah pengkhianatan 

kadar sekarang adalah perjanjian sejak sekian lama

kami tidak nampak mengapa perlu kurangkan bayaran pinjaman sara hidup 

Lembaga Pengarah Felda kena jawab

Dalam manifesto mereka setuju dengan perjanjian sedia ada 

malah berjanji akan tambah kadarnya

Tetapi kini lain yang terjadi - di kurangkan

Kertas Putih Azmin tidak seharusnya hanya dedahkan penyelewengan

warga Felda ingin melihat pelan segera pemulihan Felda 

Mazlan ­ingatkan PH menunaikan janji mereka 

(OSTB :  Menunaikan janji?  Ha  ha  ha. Brader Mazlan Aliman,  hang tak faham kah? Bagi Pakatan Harapan, Manifesto maksudnya 'Jangan Percaya Janji Kami'.  Itu maksud 'Manifesto' ikut  fahaman Pakatan Harapan.

Mazlan tidak mahu pekeliling itu menambah beban peneroka 

pendapatan semakin berkurang 

bayaran bantuan sara hidup bulanan sering tertunggak

19 kawasan Felda beri kemenangan kepada PH 

harapan mereka menikmati hidup lebih baik dengan kerajaan baharu

Sekiranya pembaharuan tidak dibuat sokongan akan lenyap 

kerajaan PH gagal beri perubahan 

Mazlan gesa kerajaan melantik anak Felda 

yang lebih memahami masalah sebenar Felda

My comments  : I asked my Bersatu friends about Mazlan Aliman's statement.  
Their reply,  "We are ashamed to meet the Felda settlers".  

My view is I dont think the Paktan Harapan gives a shit.  

The Pakatan's spokespersons have to put up a brave front that everything is fine and dandy.  But this 'putting up a happy face' is becoming more difficult.  It is also getting more difficult to hide their own "more honest"  feelings.    

For example here is Kadir Jasin's latest blogpost :    

https://kadirjasin.blogspot.com/2019/03/banyak-kejayaan-kerajaan-tetapi-tidak.html

Kadir starts off by saying :  "BUKAN semua mengenai kerajaan baru Pakatan Harapan (PH) tidak baik."

Having said that he then continues with  : 

1.  Kita harap menjelang satu tahun (PH) memerintah pada 9 Mei nanti, Menteri, Menteri Besar, Ketua Menteri dan timbalan Menteri buatlah kerja betul-betul, cakaplah betul-betul dan buatlah perangai yang betul.

2.  Berkomunikasilah dengan lebih baik dan berkesan dengan semua peringkat dan golongan masyarakat. 

3.  Pegawai Khas, Setiausaha Akhbar dan Pegawai Komunikasi Korporat pun tolonglah cergas sikit. Kalau bodoh belajar. Kalau tidak tahu tanya.

4. Kalau Najib lambat dijatuhkan hukuman, itu bukan salah kerajaan.

5.   Jadi adalah amat penting, pada ketika perhatian ditujukan kepada kerajaan menjelang setahun usia kerajaan PH, bagi Menteri, Menteri Besar, Ketua Menteri dan timbalan mengambil tugas mereka dengan lebih serius.

6.  Jangan hampakan rakyat jelata yang semakin gundah gulana dan tidak sabar.

7.  Jangan hampakan Perdana Menteri yang memberikan kepercayaan kepada mereka.

8.  Alasan mereka masih baru semakin tidak laku. Mereka tidak boleh membuat rakyat jelata tunggu sampai bila-bila kerana pembangkang juga ada rancangan dan agenda.

The Pakatan government is falling down. 
At the end of the day it is all about the economy. 
The economy is in very deep trouble.  
Here is something that is quite shocking. 

It is a special one-day special offer by Domino's Pizza (ended yesterday) :      

70% off a regular pizza ! 50% off a large and almost 40% off an extra large pizza.
Business IS really bad. 

Here is more distressing news from The Star. This one has to be analysed a little bit because herein lies the solution to our problems as well.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/28/less-than-5-success-rate-for-getting-an-interview/

Fresh grads have to send > 100 applications before securing an interview

Lim YY 25,  banking sector said positions for fresh grads mainly sales positions

she sent 100 applications but interview from four companies
graduated with first-class honours from local college

starting salary RM2,300 per month, selling bancassurance products

her cousin, first job in 2011, also paid RM2,300 starting salary 

salary not sufficient to survive in Klang Valley 
rental, cost of living are high,” said Lim

my friends getting RM2,000
very few get RM3,000
openings at banks are mainly sales positions

jobs for fresh grads mainly in sales, customer service, telemarketing

companies mainly looking for telemarketing and customer service positions

another fresh grad Kalpana D. looking for job for > six months

applied > 100 jobs only two companies responded

Jonathan 23, exec at telco said salary enough for basics food, transportation
I cant afford car, house anytime soon

his starting salary RM2,000 - RM3,000.

My comments :  Lim YY, her cousin, her friends, Kalpana and Jonathan are all non-bumis and non-Malays.  They also found jobs in the private sector. Not government or GLC. Meaning what they are saying, their job prospects and their monthly incomes are more reflective of the "real situation in our economy".  This closer to the truth. 

In today's economy, university graduates with 1st class honors degrees earn RM2,300 a month in the 'real private sector economy'. 

Just RM1,250 away are the school dropouts plus the SPM and STPM leavers who are paid minimum wages of RM1,050.

In between will be the diploma holders and certificate holders who will be paid something between RM1,050 but below RM2,000.  (This would be Klang Valley.) What about  Tapah or Batu Pahat or Sarikei? 

In my view, these salaries represent not just the difficult economic conditions but more importantly this is the amount of cash flow that accrues to companies for the payment of wages. This is what the economy can afford. There is no conspiracy here.

Now the GLCs are still paying much higher salaries for their fresh grads. Despite the GLCs like Khazanah making multi billion Ringgit losses and not creating any new wealth they continue paying higher than average salaries. This is the 'feel good' model developed by that stupid mamak since the days of Abdullah Badawi.

The GLCs are of course mostly in monopolistic and oligopolistic businesses.  Did you know that the Pantai Hospital group, the Gleneagles Hospitals and the KPJ group of hospitals are all owned by GLCs?  They run on oligopolistic business models.  

There is no genuine free market in Malaysia. This is not a really capitalistic economy. Social anthropologists may one day diagnose our economic policies as 'narcisstic jingoism'.

Hence there are serious 'misalignments' in the Malaysian economy.  The GLCs paying people wages that are higher than their real economic output will also contribute to higher prices of goods.  

A person who is not as productive can still earn an income to buy a quantity of goods that are more than his own productive output.   Meaning he has buta money. He will chase after more goods than he deserves to purchase.  Hence the prices of goods in the economy will go up. 

There will be price inflation with no real added productivity in the economy. Keep this up and the Malaysian Ringgit will become Banana Money.   (Write this down somewhere, because it will happen.)  It has already happened. The US Dollar is now at RM4.07 - holding steady !!  (It used to be RM2.50 lah). 

Same with the Minimum Wage.  Considering the low quality of our education system especially the low quality of our 18 year old school leavers, paying them a minimum wage of RM1050 throughout the Peninsula is grossly overvaluing their productive capacity.

Even businesses in the Klang Valley and in Kuala Lumpur cannot generate the type of productive output that can sustain a minimum wage of RM1,050 per month per entry level worker. It is quite difficult.  

Now  imagine the situation in small towns like Kuala Nerang or Kuala Nerus.  They do not have rocket manufacturing plants in Kuala Nerang.  What kind of productivity can they have in Kuala Nerang  that can sustain a Minimum Wage of RM1,050 per month? 

But the Law says employers must pay a minimum wage of RM1,050 per month to workers whose productivity output may not reach RM1,050 a month. 

What will happen? Businesses are closing down. That is what is happening. They cannot afford to pay minimum wages that are above the productive output of the workers. And without sufficient workers they cannot run their restaurants, their factories and their hotels. 

Folks, this is not a "policy issue" or a "conspiracy" issue.  
This is simple Darjah Dua arithmetic. Simplest economics.

Secondly, the 21 year old who failed to cut a piece of wood into two equal lengths (this is from real experience) is certainly earning wages above his productive capacity. What does this mean? It means he will be able to buy goods and services (with his Minimum Wages)  that are beyond his own productive output. He  too is spending  buta money. 

Multiply the above by the number of workers on Minimum Wages in the country and that will be the amount of money (or  thereof) that is chasing goods and services beyond its own productive output. 

That will certainly exert inflationary pressures in the economy. 
Prices will go up. Boleh faham ke?

So after a few years of this type of price inflation (actually it has happened in Malaysia, since Minimum Wages were introduced in 2011?), it will be back to square one. 

Prices would have increased until the Minimum Wage earners (plus ALL the rest of us) will realise that despite the Minimum Wage they cannot buy as many goods as before. Or they can buy ONLY as many goods as they did BEFORE Minimum Wages came into effect.

As I said, back to Square One. We realise that we still cannot buy as much. So Domino's Pizza has to give that 70% discount that you saw above. 

The head bone is connected to the neck bone, the neck bone is connected to the shoulder bone etc.

The higher prices of goods and services as a result of the Minimum Wage earners (and lets also not forget the over paid GLC workers, the Datos who made their millions without lifting more than a finger)   spending above their actual productive output  has neutralised the benefits of Minimum Wages.

New 18 year olds are constantly entering the workplace.  For a few years they will be earning a Minimum Wage above their productive output. Other workers who are below par in output will also be earning a Minimum Wage above their productive output.

So more businesses will close. 
Mom and Pop will not venture to open that new shop or business. 
It gets more difficult.
If Dominos cannot sell pizzas without a 70% discount, they will close shop.

I hope you can understand this. 
It is really very simple. 
No rocket science needed. 

I see very difficult times for a significant number of Malaysians.