YOURSAY | There should be a jihad against corruption

YOURSAY | 'If there is to be a jihad, it should be against corruption.'

Don't turn jihad against inflation into xenophobic crusade - PKR youths

Coward: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is looking for an excuse to placate voters angered by the rise in the cost of living as a result of his decisions.

I am afraid, just like the chicken shortage, he is precipitating yet another crisis. This time the rise in the cost of hiring foreign workers.Those highly-paid expatriates are not going to be affected. It is those low-pay ones who will be blamed. They will demand higher pay to make it worthwhile coming here.

Given that we are highly dependent on them, I would not be surprised if the industry players come back in a year to complain about it. I suppose he is hoping by then it is no longer his problem.

The subsidies are a distortion of the market in the first place. However, one benefit is the improvement in nutrition, particularly for the low-income group.

The worry about giving cash instead of cheap food is that the recipient will spend the money on something else. What I want to know is what is his strategy for dealing with this?

I don't want to see the basic nutritional intake of the country suffer from such a move, as this will create a long-term problem for the country.

This, I am afraid, is too difficult a question for our prime minister to comprehend, let alone worry enough to do something about.

Appum: The socio-economic problems we are facing now are not a local phenomenon, they are happening all over the world - food shortages, increased prices of services and products, material shortages and supply hiccups.

From Kuala Lumpur to Washington, it looks like we have the same kind of leadership problem. Both their approaches look similar, blaming others for their failure to deal with their socio-economic problems.

One directs the attention to China, whereas here, the blame is on foreign workers.

While we may not care about how others run their country, we care about our leaders and their approaches to solving our problems at home.

We care about using strong religious terms like ”jihad” against our traders and businesses. We don't need to invoke religious overtones on issues surmountable by sensible, intelligent planning and execution. Such emotional approaches won't work.

If a "jihad" is needed, then we should use it for bigger problems this country is facing, like a jihad against corruption, misuse of government funds, stealing of taxpayers’ money, incompetent leaders in government and government-linked companies, overpaid officials, the lack of rule of law and racial discrimination.

Rupert16: Yes, tackling inflation is not a religious war. So, for goodness’ sake, stop the jihad nonsense.

What is needed is competent people who are also compassionate, and ready to listen and understand the woes and suffering of the rakyat.

Headhunter: How is it that we don't hear of a politician calling for his colleagues to desist from stealing and siphoning public money and return their ill-gotten wealth to help the rakyat?

Koel: Ismail Sabri should ask defaulting billionaires to pay overdue taxes. Why are the prime minister, his cabinet and relevant agencies not going after them?

Wouldn't that be a more substantial gain for the country, instead of going after a poor man who can’t afford to buy food for his family?

Instead of going after the real shirkers with means, in a cheap bully fashion, they pick on the people with the least means.

It is very telling of a person's character when they do this. Likewise, it also tells you everything about the party’s value system.

Quo Vadis Malaysia: Migrant workers are already an established part of our social fabric. Malaysia, now and in the foreseeable future, absolutely have to factor them into the overall equation of what our country is and will be.

Can anyone out there cite facts and data that show we can survive without them? I highly doubt it.

There is a lot of xenophobic noise for sure, as they are a convenient target for whatever the flavour of the day may be; crime, communicable disease, etc. But then, please show us how things would improve for Malaysia without them.

LimeGoat2442: Indeed, migrant workers helped to keep prices low in Malaysia for many years. They live here and give their sweat and blood to eke out a living not just for themselves but also for their families back home.

On the other hand, we have a bloated cabinet wearing designer clothes, luxury watches, going on expensive holidays, sending their kids to study overseas etc… and this group enjoy the subsidies the most, not to mention allowances, all coming from rakyat’s pockets.

Maya: So far, the blame has been on the middlemen and migrant workers. You cannot stop the middlemen.

Will sending back all the migrant workers or depriving them of a fair livelihood overcome inflation?

1 Malaysia Dalam Bahaya: Who will be the next in the blame game?

Today, the government blames the migrant workers, tomorrow they blame DAP, the day after tomorrow (you watch out) they blame you and me. But they don’t look in the mirror and blame the person they see.