Yet Another (Yawn!) Expensive Bumiputera Economic Boondoggle By M. Bakri Musa

 

Last week (Aug 18, 2024), Madani gomen launched another massive initiative

• Bumi Economic Transformation Plan, dubbed PuTERA35
• price tag and associated grand ceremonies
• “35” refers to the target date, year 2035

• acronyms, endless Kongress Ekonomi
• endless blueprints, grandiose plans 
• reflect less commitment, more incompetence. 
• Repeating over and over the same strategy, expecting a different result 
• insanity as per Einstein
• an inability to learn
• otherwise known as stupidity

• first Kongress Ekonomi Bumiputara 1965 triggered disastrous follies
• Bank Bumiputra collapsed two decades later
• consuming mega billion ringgits
• massive corruption, unbelievable incompetence of leaders, pseudo entrepreneurs
• 1MDB same beast only bigger, more voracious

• MARA means bravely marching forward 
• In Buddhist lore Mara a malignant celestial king 
• with army of beautiful women 
• seduced a prince from achieving Enlightenment
• Mara personifies “forces antagonistic to enlightenment”

• MARA has endless public funds
• results disastrous as expected 
  
• None of its first few cohorts secured full Higher School Certificate. 
• MARA simply bypassed Sixth Form 
• sent thousands abroad to third-rate universities

• Malay leaders’ solution to every problem is to recite moldy Arabic texts 
• a more insidious problem
• willful and adamant refusal to learn
• even the brainless flatworm is capable of learning
• Adamant because it is still unchanged, decades later

• Gomen should invest in people, not companies 
• Sell Bernas, Pernas
• those GLCs  massive conduits for political patronages
  
• Make Universiti Teknoloji MARA (successor to ITM) all-English again
• and have Malays fluent in both Malay and English, and competent in STEM

• People are the true and priceless resource of a nation
• Invest in them by providing quality education. 
• Only then “Melayu takkan hilang di dunia!” 

pick your smartest minister to lead the education ministry
 

OSTB : 

 
New Economic Policy 1970 - 1990 failed.
Outline Perspective Plan 1990 - 2000 failed
Wawasan 2000 - 2020 failed. 
"35" ??

 

Dr Mahathir said 'I will not be around to see 2020'. 

He thought it was a good taichi move. 

Postponing the failures from 1970 by another 20 years until 2020.

But panjang umur Tun, he has lived to see the failure of Wawasan 2020 too.

Now another taichi to 2035.

 

Let me tell you now - it will also fail.

The situation of the Malays is actually getting worse.

The simple reason is because progress is relative.

 

The Malays are falling behind again because the rest of the world has moved ahead.

The Malays have not fully caught up with the 20th century. 

But this is already the 21st century.

Free markets, competition, less gomen intervention in the economy,

less gomen intervention in people's private lives and personal choices,

have long become common in negara maju or the advanced countries.

 

But in the 21st century the Malays are only now becoming more embroiled in:

closing the markets, less competition (in education, economy, everything), more gomen monopolies, more gomen intervention in the economy,  more gomen intervention 

in people's private lives and personal choices.

So when the world is moving more and more forwards in the 21st century

the Malays are moving relatively more and more backwards.

It is no more "mara". It is now 'undur'. Or "gostan full speed". 

Or 'katak bawah 12 tempurung'.

 

So 2020 tak jadi.

2035 will go nowhere.

 

I have a suggestion. 

After all I am 'OutSyed The Box'.

Full of suggestions.

Why not target 2100 (22nd century) 

For the Malays to arrive in the 20th century? 

Lets be realistic.

Then take it from there.

 The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.